The Kingdom BeComes
by NineInchNailed
Summary: Months after the Arc Cradle incident a new evil is threatening to destroy the city and it's up to Team 5D's to save the day. Will the new adventure bring Yusei and Aki together or tear them apart? And what's the deal with a mysterious Egyptian God card?
1. Chapter 1: Introduction

_Author's Note: _

_This is a very short chapter but it will get longer as this is just an introduction. I also need to mention that I used to be a huge Yu-Gi-Oh DM fan so there are quite a few references to the original series. If you have not watched the original Yu-Gi-Oh, however, and only Yu-Gi-Oh 5D's, then this fanfiction will still work but it will seem just a little less cool…_

_By the way, I didn't really like Yu-Gi-Oh GX and have only watched a few episodes so there will be minimal to none references to that series, sorry... But I'm thinking of giving the series another try so I'll see how that goes. _

_I also watched the original Yu-Gi-Oh with English dubbing and Yu-Gi-Oh 5D's in Japanese with English subs. This difference may be reflected in some language and card names but I don't think that it will make much impact. _

"_The Kingdom [be]Comes" is rated M because of some violence, coarse language, suggestive themes and sexuality (but this will happen later). _

_I hope you enjoy my fanfiction and thank you for reading!_

_**NineInchNailed**__. _

* * *

"The great disturbance has begun," solemnly spoke a presence. Although it spoke softly, almost whispering, its voice boomed over the Realm of Gods and broke the impenetrable night sky with earsplitting thunder. Having uttered its words the presence began to take shape and materialized into a colossal and proud figure. This figure blocked out the blinding light of Ra, the magnificent god of the sun. Ra glanced back with an enigmatic smile and departed because he did not belong in this pantheon.

"It has begun _once again_" whispered the supreme god Atum, whose limitless power radiated beyond the divine realm and touched the horizon of the world. He took a seat at the high throne and his amethyst purple eyes gazed down upon the seated Ennead of the other seven Egyptian gods.

"What is the disturbance you speak of?" asked a radiant and an energetic young man. He radiated energy of almost child-like excitement and a light breeze moved about him, continuously flustering his hair and white robes. At times he appeared almost transparent. His brown eyes glistened with anticipation and at the possibility of a new adventure. This young man was none other but Shu, an Egyptian god of wind.

"Though he has been imprisoned for millenniums Set has managed to escape into the world of human beings," Atum replied and a worried murmur scattered over the conference. Shu's eyes widened and he shifted uncomfortably while the god sitting on the opposite end of him leaned forward into the light.

The god's cobalt blue eyes contrasted with his olive complexion. His gaze pierced Atum's purple eyes as Atum faced him. It took every bit of his celestial essence to avoid feelings of discomfort. No mortal could withstand such a stare.

"All this time Set has been incapable of escaping… He then had an accomplice. Do we know who that could be?" the blue-eyed god inquired and looked around the pantheon, summoning nervous and uneasy glances from others. A porcelain hand of a female figure next to him reached over and touched his arm as if silently offering him support.

"Osiris…" Atum spoke and gravely shook his head, "No, we don't know who could have released Set. But we must decide our course of action fast, however: time is beyond us and it's already been two years for humans since Set fled there."

Osiris frowned and looked away. In his anthropomorphized appearance Osiris was dressed in shimmering robes of star dust – the celestial silk – and adorned with glistening gold jewelry. He was strikingly handsome regardless of the scarring all over his celestial body. These scars would always remain and keep him in constant reminder of the time he was torn apart by Set, the malicious god of Chaos…and how if not for Isis, his wife, he would have remained scattered for the rest of eternity.

A woman's hand on his arm remained, silently soothing him as the tension invaded his muscles.

The nervous silence lingered over the divine conference until a beautiful dark skinned woman stood up from her throne and, commanding attention, spoke:

"The least chaos and destruction will occur if the battle occurs on Earth. Our intervention should only commence if those gods who choose to descend into the human realm fail," said Nut, the goddess of the sky. Her long dark hair was braided with silver and she was wearing a flowing black dress decorated with countless diamonds to correspond with the current sky.

A smirk appeared on Atum's lips.

"Choose? Alas, at a time like this, a choice is not an option. I had recently _lived _as a human and participated in Earthly battles in order to restore the Balance. Isis had briefly joined me there to guide my path, and Osiris and my brothers Ra and Obelisk had also lent their divine powers to aid me in battles. And once my quest was complete and I rejoined the Realm of the Gods, Shu had taken my place years later when the Balance needed to be restored again. Thus, the gods who did not participate in the descent last time _will_ be the ones to go," Atum answered in his booming voice and Nut hurried to sit, feeling overwhelmed. "And so," Atum went on, "I will take almost no part in this conquest. Geb, Nut, Nephthys and Tefnut: this is your mission and you must succeed in defeating Set in the human realm in order to imprison him once again. The rest of Ennead's involvement in this matter will be limited."

The gods assigned to this conquest nodded gravely while Shu sighed with disappointment. He wished that he was the one to go this time too.

Atum was about to order completion of the assembly when suddenly Osiris stood up and said, "No."

Atum stared at the blue-eyed god while the other gods exchanged surprised glances.

"No," Osiris repeated and locked his eyes with the most powerful presence in existence, "_I_ will go. I must settle my dispute with Set once and for all."

"Osiris, you _do_ know that Horus is the one with a personal dispute with Set, do you not?" the origin god reminded.

"And yet Horus is unavailable for this task," Osiris glanced at the empty throne at the end of the pantheon. It was the only one of the eight not occupied. "And since you have to send others in Horus' place…I am the best choice."

"A vendetta is not a suitable motive for a battle," Atum remarked, "Not even for Horus."

"A vendetta this is not," Osiris answered, "This is my resolution." With that he averted his gaze and looked to the scars covering his forearms. Unlike Horus who was a proud and ruthless fighter and who held that justice could be achieved using the means of combat, Osiris' intention was not as such. Confrontation, fairness and eventual inner peace were his goals. He sought understanding and, if achievable and grounded in reasonableness, a possible acceptance of Set's crimes.

Atum lapsed into silence, considering his response. His amethyst purple eyes studied Osiris for a long time before he finally spoke up.

"You have not been given a proper chance to confront Set after what he's done to you," Atum decided, "I think you need an opportunity to heal yourself, Osiris. You'll be the one to go to the Human Real. I'm permitting this."

Osiris bowed in gratitude and turned to walk out when a woman that was seated next to him stood up, and then elegantly walked over to his side.

The light revealed a fair-skinned woman of unimaginable beauty. A long flowing silk dress – rose-red in colour – graced her figure, and her copious gold jewelry corresponded with that of her husband's. Her amber, feline-shaped eyes gazed almost dreamily at Osiris and then moved to look at Atum as she spoke up:

"I'll accompany Osiris. He may have lent his power to aid previous battles but this time he intends to _live_ in order to confront Set. I can't let him be all alone. And I will aid him and he me, if it becomes necessary," Isis said and gently placed her hand on Osiris' shoulder. As the couple locked eyes they smiled at one another while the previously chosen gods looked relieved with this turn of events.

"Very well, then it is decided," Atum agreed, "It will take about…eighteen years for Set to awaken and twenty for you two, Isis and Osiris. Hope that chaos does not become abundant during the two years that you'd be asleep. Enjoy your human stay on Earth and remember: being human is painful, demanding, and sometimes outright dangerous... and yet it offers the possibility for pleasure that is worth of divine envy."

Both Osiris and Isis bowed and the rest of the Ennead gods vanished.

"You are not to despair, my love…with patience we will eventually find one another," Osiris said to the goddess and Isis smiled magnetically in return, nodding. He then touched his hand to her cheek, leaning closer, and the couple shared a kiss of eternal love.

Finally, gazing one last time into her mesmerizing amber eyes, Osiris dissolved into air and Isis became overwhelmed with sudden feeling of melancholy. She had just lost him for yet another period of time…and in the human realm it could take so long for them to become reunited again. And_ if_ the universe would be kind enough to guide them back to one another. She couldn't hold back her tears and stayed behind for a few moments to compose herself…

Cobalt blue eyes opened into the darkness of the room and Yusei Fudo sat up on his bed, suddenly wide awake.


	2. Part I: Carpe Diem

Part I: Carpe Diem

* * *

"_**I held a moment in my hand**_

_**Brilliant as a star**_

_**Fragile as a flower**_

_**A tiny sliver of one hour… I dripped it carelessly."**_

~_Hazel Lee_


	3. Chapter 2: A day somehow extraordinary

_Author's Note:_

_So this is Chapter 2 and it is now set in our favourite and familiar Yu-Gi-Oh 5D's Japan where children's Card Games (on motorcycles) rule the world! This chapter is much longer and deals with all our characters. This fanfiction also takes 2 years after we have first been introduced to Yusei in the anime but it discards the events of the 3D movie._

_Also, even though the anime has ended I began this fanfiction while the series was still on air…so if characters show up that should not be showing up it's because of that. _

_So I hope you enjoy this chapter and please review!_

_**NineInchNailed**__._

_**Update**__: this chapter underwent a huge update on June 20__th__, 2011. The whole plot is still the same but I added a lot more characterization for Crow and Yusei, and offered a lot of insight into their feelings for Aki. I also pretty much rewrote everything (i.e. sentence structure, used different synonyms, etc) because I was unhappy with how this chapter held up compared to later chapters since I think my writing style improved a little (it's been over a year). Again, all the actual events are still the same they're just written a little differently because I'm crazy.  
_

_If I ever do any of such updates I promise you that it's never to alter the plot – it's usually to edit language or add descriptives. And I'm sorry if this annoys anyone who reads the chapters as they first come out and then, months later, finds out that something has been altered. I just suck and am a huge neurotic perfectionist at times. _

* * *

_**"The ordinary acts we practice every day…are of more importance to the soul than their simplicity might suggest."**_

_~Thomas Moore._

* * *

At 6:45 on the morning of his 20th birthday Yusei Fudo awoke suddenly and almost as if deliberately shaken awake. He sat up with a jolt and looked about with alarm, his heart thumping rapidly against his ribcage.

Early strokes of sunlight peeked through the window and warmly illuminated his small bedroom. A refreshing breeze gracefully played with the translucent curtains. It all revealed nothing other than a beginning of a particularly peaceful summer day.

Yusei breathed out and propped his elbows on his knees, rubbing his weary eyes. His heart rate calmed but for some reason he still felt broken. There was a grating headache in his temples. _I must have had a nightmare earlier on_, Yusei concluded although unable to remember. But bad dreams weren't infrequent with him, having been especially pronounced during the Dark Signers and WRPG periods.

When Yusei finally got up and began making his bed he suddenly became aware of a strange sensation in his left bicep. It felt sort of like sunburn as if he had inexplicably gone tanning overnight. But when he studied his arm he saw absolutely nothing wrong with it.

The weather might have been nice but so far the twenty year old Signer wasn't having an overly pleasant or straightforward morning.

Once again concluding that his mind was simply playing tricks on him, Yusei shook off any remaining feelings of unease and, instead, got dressed and went out for an early morning jog.

The city was still mostly in its slumber with the streets empty except for a few early joggers like him, a few cars here and there, and some yawning mailmen. It was simply a middle of warm and beautiful June.

Yusei actually felt no different today, on his 20th birthday, than any other day. In fact, he wouldn't have even remembered about his birthday if, for some reason, Crow Hogan didn't decide to remind about it last night. Everybody except for Jack Atlas seemed surprised and even somewhat upset that this wasn't brought up sooner. And Yusei, himself, didn't think it was a big deal.

Once he returned home Yusei took a long hot shower after which he came out feeling completely energized and rested. His left arm still burned but not so bothersome that he couldn't ignore it.

He changed into a pair of jeans and a t-shirt, grabbed a sandwich from the kitchen, and then went down to the garage. There he proceeded to tend to his red D-Wheel which became damaged last night as a result of his duel with Crow: the motorcycle's front splash guard was crooked and some paint was scratched off.

_The night before, 10:09pm. _

As Yusei's Stardust dragon obliterated Crow's weakened Black Feather Armored Wing monster, Crow sighed and drew nearer to his friend. Both of their D-Wheels slowed down and the two duelists drove casually towards the exit of the stadium.

"Okay, Yusei, you're just lucky I didn't have the trap card I wanted during the last turn. There is no way you would've beaten me then!" Crow exclaimed, hiding his frustration. He believed that Yusei and he were about equally matched in strategy but that it was Yusei's greater selection of powerful Synchro monsters that tended to give him that one turn advantage. The dark-haired Signer also tended to have incredible luck. This was particularly observable when he activated Shooting Star Dragon's special effect which required drawing Tuner monsters to boost the number of attacks per turn: the ruling King of Games never seemed to draw less than 3 Tuners.

"This was definitely a close game, Crow," Yusei agreed with a smile, "I can't wait until we duel again."

Crow couldn't help but to return a satisfied smirk and glanced towards the exit of the stadium, noticing their friends and spectators sitting at the stands: Jack Atlas and Carly Nagisa, Jin Himuro, Tenzen Yanagi and Saiga, and Aki Izayoi.

Carly was laughing at something that she, herself, had probably said and was leaning her shoulder against Jack's, while Jack sat there looking bored. Himuro, old man Yanagi and Saiga were engaged in a heated discussion, seemingly about the duel that just occurred. And Aki was apparently busy texting somebody on the cellphone.

Crow's eyes casually lingered on Aki and all of a sudden he was awestruck.

To be honest, Crow had always found the redhead quite attractive. Of course they were nothing more than friends – and good ones at that – but that didn't mean that he was oblivious to her beauty – and Aki _was_ a stunningly beautiful girl. And, frankly, this time a second glance at her was more than justified: instead of her casual (and still pretty sexy, he thought) corset, magenta skirt and coat combination, Aki was dressed for occasion. A silk black dress impeccably hugged her figure, showing her ample cleavage and bare shoulders. The dress was also quite long – reaching nearly to her feet – and a large slit on its side revealed smooth perfect legs. The finishing touch was a pair of black high-heeled pumps which further accentuated the length of her legs.

Damn she looked hot.

Crow openly ogled her, sort of forgetting that he was in the middle of driving. And Aki just sat there, concentrating on her mobile, and seemed to be completely oblivious to the outside world. Her red hair was completely down and carefully brushed without her usual silver pin holding her bangs at the front. And a silly smile played on her lips as she read from the phone screen.

Crow's mouth snapped open and he choked out, "Yusei…look at Aki."

"What?" Yusei asked in confusion and turned his head in her direction. And once he caught the sight of her his eyes widened.

…But unfortunately Yusei wasn't given nearly enough time to gape because, at that point, the front wheel of Crow's bike casually drove into his because its owner was far too distracted to watch the road.

"Crow!" Yusei yelled and quickly wheeled his bike to the opposite side to prevent a crash and then breaked. This caused Crow to snap out of his trance and he urgently hit the breaks as well.

The two sharply stopping D-Wheels made the same loud screeching noise and the long tire tracks imprinted on the road. Yusei stirred his D-Wheel into balance and finally stopped, looking back to see smoke coming from the tires that overheated from the friction.

Crow's tires smoked as well but his bike managed to come out without a scratch. Nevertheless Crow couldn't care any less and instead hurried towards his friend, deathly worried that he might have injured him.

"Yusei, are you alright?" the young man shouted. He was almost having an anxiety attack as he remembered the time Yusei crashed and almost died in his battle with Kiryu. Crow's spiky orange hair seemed even crazier now almost as if reflecting his agitation. Without waiting for an answer, he started to feel Yusei up almost as if trying to find any broken limbs.

Yusei dismounted his D-Wheel and removed his helmet before carefully pushing Crow's hands away. "Crow, I'm alright," he answered and took in the image of the other Signer, with relief noticing that he was also unharmed.

Crow looked completely guilty and miserable. "Yusei…ano…I am so sorry, I should have been watching the road."

"Don't worry, Crow," Yusei smiled at him, "We are both unharmed and that's what's important." He knelt to take a closer look at the slight damage to the front wheel and estimated, "This is just a scratch and nothing I won't be able to fix in minutes tomorrow."

Crow returned a light smile and nodded. "Thanks, Yusei. I'll stop by to help out tomorrow at the garage. Ahhh," he sighed in aggravation, "I can't believe I did this! What a fool!"

The friendly spectators finally reached the two duelists and started jittering endless worried questions: "Are you okay, you guys… Are you sure you're okay… What happened… Is your D-Wheel broken now… Are you hurt, Yusei… I always knew the two of you weren't good at anything…"

For a split second the world went mute for Yusei as his eyes picked out the red-haired girl out of the crowd. He noticed her worried face and then his gaze traveled over the spectacular curves of her body played up by the tight dress. Finally his eyes lingered on her long legs, and then the swell of her bust, and he couldn't look away.

She looked...stunning, to say the least.

Yusei involuntarily began wondering what the occasion was and why he hadn't heard anything about it. Then he remembered that he and Aki never actually spoke much about everyday hobbies, activities or other silly things…most of their interactions were pretty much confined within the Team 5D's and its tasks. He thought that maybe this was the time to _finally_ begin breaking this pattern from now on.

He also realized, just then, that he was now staring at her far longer than could be attributed to an innocent or a friendly glance. The sound suddenly came back on and Yusei quickly glimpsed at Crow's D-Wheel on the distance, pretending like he was trying to find it all along but couldn't because everyone was blocking his view. He hoped Aki would be oblivious to his admiring of her.

"So I don't really get what happened," Carly Nagisa pondered as she looked over at the red D-Wheel. Her thick round glasses slid down her nose and she absently pushed them back up. "So the two of you _just_ collided? Just like that?" It was hard to believe that two very capable Duel Riders like Crow and Yusei could let a mishap like this happen considering the impossible feats they did regularly and at dangerously high speeds. Yusei's special Accel Synchro being an especially notable endeavor.

"I'll tell you how: they just never completely learned how to drive," Jack Atlas answered his girlfriend of four months and then settled his amused gaze on Yusei, "Who knew that going under the speed limit would be the current King of Games' ultimate downfall?"

Yusei calmly met the older Signer's mocking glare. Although Jack was teasing there was a sharp quality reflected in those violet eyes. Perhaps because anything that had to do with a title of King of Games the blonde took very personally and seriously.

Still, it was rather amusing how Jack decided to go about ridiculing him. Considering it was Jack Atlas that was secretly "famed" in Team 5D's for the numerous amount of times he'd fallen off his D-Wheel.

Yusei settled on a neutral and civil explanation. "We were talking and became distracted."

Crow nodded, chewing on his lower lip and looking at his boots. He didn't only feel awkward because it was mostly his fault that Yusei's bike got damaged. No, the _main_ source of his discomfort was the fact that he openly ogled Aki Izayoi (which _might_'ve been the main reason why he wasn't paying attention to the road) and then that he stupidly let Yusei know about it.

Now the actual problem wasn't the fact that Crow checked out their mutual female friend – it definitely wasn't the first time he'd done it and he couldn't really stop himself from looking at attractive chicks. No, the real problem was _Yusei _who, as of a year ago, placed "tabs" on Aki and now decidedly kept everybody else away from her. And although he'd admitted to somewhat liking her he hasn't done a single thing about it ever since! It was pretty much "fine, I may sorta like her but I don't know when I'm going to ask her out, and if at all. But now none of you are allowed to ask her on a date, muahahaha, bros before hoes."

…Okay, maybe it wasn't _exactly_ like that but still it captured the basic premise of that day.

Crow sighed and inconspicuously peaked at Aki out of the corner of his eyes.

To be fair, this "prohibition" didn't actually bother Crow too much. It wasn't like his occasional "studying" of the redhead ever amounted to anything more. Sure he liked Aki a lot…but not in _that_ way. He admired her looks, yes (and he knew that Yusei and him weren't the only ones), but he mostly liked her because she was a wicked duelist and could kick serious ass. He also really liked her courage and loyalty, things he'd always looked for in people. Additionally, she was very approachable and easy to talk to; she always offered her support and sympathy which were nice to have in contrast to Jack's pompous mocking and Yusei's often emotionally detached problem-solving. But…at the same time, there was something very gentle about her, something that was the direct opposite of her psychic power. It was almost as if a subtle force that lived in the innermost layers of her being, something that not even she seemed to be aware of, and something that shone through the darkest of times. Whatever it was, Crow felt it was fragile but powerful and _beautiful_. It would only be many years later, when Team 5D's have all went their separate ways – some together and some alone – that Crow Hogan would realize that it was precisely that energy that was Aki Izayoi's _true_ and purest power; that the energy which made her so vulnerable was the same energy that made her the strongest of them all. He would finally understand that that same energy was also the reason why he was so hopelessly and irreversibly drawn to her. And the reason why…he loved her.

Thoughts form, pass and create their own time-frames, and all of this passed through twenty year old Crow's mind in a space of no more than five seconds. He looked up and noticed that Saiga had closured the red D-Wheel and now examined it with a thoughtful expression on his face.

"Hmm, Yusei, take a look," Saiga said and Yusei turned to the fellow engineer, "There is only a dent in the splash guard and scratched off paint. I don't see anything else!"

"Ah, it was only a minor collision," Yusei nodded.

"Yusei…I'm glad," Aki Izayoi whispered. Her warm amber eyes glistened.

The blue-eyed man flashed her a quick smile before putting all of his attention to his bike, showing Saiga where else he noticed some traces of damage. When Bruno wasn't around – and he was his primary go-to mechanic for advice – Saiga was the next best alternative for technical matters.

Aki's lips parted and she let out a quiet sigh.

Crow somehow heard it and looked at the girl questioningly. It was then that he took notice that Aki's eyes were fixed on Yusei. That she was watching him. Attentively. Hopefully. And Crow felt a stab of something weird and incomprehensible because it wasn't jealousy which was an emotion as powerful as it was vicious. If anything it was closer to…acceptance.

Yusei was the leader. He was the one everyone listened to, looked up to, and would follow until the very end. And although he might not have been the tallest out of all of them he still effortlessly commanded attention and respect. And he was still taller than Crow who was usually the shortest of all his friends (Rua and Ruka twins notwithstanding since they _were_ only children but began catching up). Crow's short stature used to be a source of discomfort for him when he was younger but early on he had learned to battle discomfort with humour. And he never had any problems with girls on that front although, for some unknown reason, girls often tended to write him off as a 'friend'. Especially those that were taller than him. Crow didn't care about height differences if he really liked someone but he knew that most girls preferred a guy to be taller than them. In fact, when he was a teen, Crow believed that short guys were probably not allowed to like tall girls. Or they were but only secretly and in silence because it never made any difference and only saved them both an embarrassment; because an overwhelming number of times the girl would pick his taller friend, a guy that was supposedly more masculine and made her feel more feminine. Which is why it was sometimes hard for him to compete with Jack, Yusei and Kiryu. Nonetheless, Crow's humour was his strongest weapon and an advantage that somewhat placed him above his 'luckier' friends.

However, it wasn't just about height in this case. That was just a minuscule detail in a grander scheme of things.

Because not only could Yusei probably be considered very handsome, but out of all of them he was also the _strongest_. It didn't have much to do with actual physicality but, rather, the fact that Yusei's strength ran deep through his very being and manifested itself in many ways. There was power radiating from him…charisma and magnetism only comprised a speck of that, because it was almost like an _aura_ which felt nearly primordial in nature; everybody was just _drawn_ to him. So the fact that Aki fell for Yusei wasn't unexpected and Crow saw it coming from miles away and from the very beginning. If anything, Crow understood it as nothing short of almost _natural_. And there was something else: Yusei was good. It seemed redundant and simple and almost stupid to admit, but that was what it was. Everything he stood for, everything he did...goodness and power just radiated from him. He was the most noble, loyal and trusted person and he would do absolutely anything for his friends or anything he deemed worthy.

So Crow wasn't jealous. No, because there was nothing to be jealous of since he didn't actually like Aki Izayoi as more than a good-looking friend but Yusei did and he wouldn't do anything to sabotage Yusei's happiness. In fact, he would work hard and do everything in his power to _ensure _that Yusei is happy. And he wasn't hateful because he just _couldn't_ be: not towards Yusei, his best friend. He was apathetic only and maybe just a little sad at most, and that sadness was locked away far into the depths of his heart, so deep and so hidden that he didn't even know it existed.

And right now the only thing that was prominent in Crow's mind was guilt.

Guilt because he wrecked his best friend's D-Wheel and noticing a prominent dent on the red splashguard especially added to him feeling bad. It also didn't help that tomorrow was an important event.

"Arghh," Crow muttered in agitation and shook his head, "I can't believe this happened! And right before your birthday too, Yusei!"

Yusei froze and then shot a quick warning look to the Signer but it was too late.

"What?" Saiga exclaimed.

"Oh yeah, I almost forgot," Jack yawned.

"Why wouldn't you tell us, Yusei?" Carly pondered.

"Wow, Yusei…way to go. Why haven't you told us sooner? We would have planned something or had time to get you something too!" Saiga continued exclaiming while Yanagi and Himuro nodded their agreement.

Yusei felt bad and struggled to explain that he never celebrated his birthdays and never actually cared to, and that it was a personal choice unrelated to anyone.

At first Crow was mortified having realized what he'd blurted out but, slowly and surely, a mischievous grin began forming on his features. He knew of course that Yusei preferred to keep his birthdays secret – being that he preferred to give rather than be given to – and because he thought that such celebrations would be just a nuisance for everybody. Crow's remark, however, was accidental – he didn't actually mean to disclose Yusei like this. But now seeing him squirm with all the questions and complains Crow realized that this was pretty hilarious. It was always amusing whenever Yusei managed to lose some of his I'm-so-cool-nothing-is-ever-awkward-for-me composure. So Crow got an urge to poke just a little more fun at his expense.

And he had a good idea of how to go about it.

So Crow turned to the amber-eyed girl standing next to him and loudly exclaimed, "Aki, wow! You're so dressed up today! May I ask what the occasion is?"

Instantly a bright blush appeared on Aki's face. "Oh, Crow…thanks," she answered, avoiding his grey eyes and awkwardly crossing her arms, "I-I had a gala today. Um, the planning committee from the Academy decided to throw a celebration because a representative from the legendary Kaiba family promised to make an appearance…but he ended up not showing up. But a few of my classmates suggested that we go as a group so…"

"Awesome, that sounds like it was a lot of fun!" Crow exclaimed, blatantly ignoring everything she said so he could finally move on to his next point, "And did you have a date?"

Aki's face turned an even darker shade of red. "Um…n-no…"

Yusei, meanwhile, slowly stood up from the ground, dusted off his knees and began staring at Crow with a blank look on his face.

"Really? I can't believe it, Aki! You should've asked me or Yusei over there to go with you. I would've loved to come!" Crow continued hitting on her, not paying attention to Yusei and everybody else's curious gazes at the unraveling situation. "You know I can pull off a mean tuxedo? And also, unlike Yusei, I'm a wicked dancer!"

At this point, aside from her obvious blush, a smile touched Aki's lips and she nodded, saying "Crow…hai, next time I'll definitely invite you!" She then glimpsed at Yusei and noticed a strange look he was giving Crow. However, what upset her, was that he seemed to be completely oblivious to her existence. Did he even _notice_ that she was wearing something drastically different from her usual dress? That she did her hair differently, that she wore more make-up, that her new shoes made her almost as tall as him?

And did he even notice that she wasn't present at the stadium until the last twenty minutes or so of his duel?

Aki began feeling idiotic and she scolded herself for caring so much.

But Crow continued grinning playfully at the redhead, not caring that she was noticeably more into in his best friend than him. He wasn't trying to persuade her anyway, it wasn't his goal this time. His fingers began twirling around his earring, his body language conveying his obvious interest in her (and he even contemplated reaching out and actually touching her for further emphasis) when Yusei finally spoke up.

"Crow," he began, shortly and somewhat dryly, "Do you remember that one time all of us attended a formal event and you got so drunk you ended up vomiting all over your date?"

Crow's smile quickly vanished.

Aki stared at Crow with surprise while the rest of their silent group eavesdropped with curiosity.

The blue-eyed Signer nonchalantly continued, as if he wasn't revealing an embarrassing story but rather talking about weather. "I think that perhaps you should warn your potential dates of that incident," he said, still avoiding looking at Aki, and shrugged, "Who knows, it could happen again."

Crow felt a blush creeping to his face. Normally he wouldn't have cared who knew about this stupid story and how, but the way he was put into spotlight and the way Aki looked at him now somehow made him uncomfortable.

Also it seemed that Yusei didn't take to teasing very well (or at all!) when it came to Aki. Sure he had a much different sense of humour and was dead serious about 99.9% of the time but he was still easily capable of taking a joke and shrugging off any mocking. But not now. Hmm.

"Ugh, whatever, Yusei," Crow sighed and rolled his eyes. "It happened ages ago so who cares! So my offer still stands for future, Aki," he winked at her.

Aki just smiled awkwardly at him.

Deciding that he needn't say anything more, Yusei walked back to his D-Wheel where he began carefully trying out the motor and breaks, hopefully getting ready to leave.

"You think you'll be fine driving home?" Saiga asked, "We could help wheel your bike to your house.

Yusei tested the breaks, steering and fluids again, and nodded, putting on his helmet. "Ah. It seems fine."

"Cool, in that case I'll stop by tomorrow," Crow said and hurried to his own D-Wheel. "Thanks for the duel, Yusei, and sorry again! Bye everyone!" he called as he sped out of the stadium.

"We're going to go too now," Carly followed suit, "Fun duel, you guys!"

"I was beyond bored," Jack gave his compliments before he and Carly departed on the Wheel of Fortune.

Saiga made arrangements to share a cab with Yanagi and Himuro before turning to the two remaining Signers. "I'll come by tomorrow too, Yusei, and help with fixing up your D-Wheel," he promised.

"Thanks," Yusei smiled and mounted the motorcycle. And then he looked directly at Aki and said, "I can drive one person home." He knew she didn't drive here – not in this dress.

Aki's eyes widened as she stared back at him.

"Thank you, sonny, that'd be great!" old man Yanagi exclaimed. Himuro and Saiga began snickering.

"_Aki_?" Yusei asked explicitly (and a little urgently now) and held out his hand.

Yanagi looked genuinely disappointed while Aki nervously studied the polite hand in front of her, hesitated…and then shook her head. "Thanks, Yusei, but it's alright…I'll cab with Himuro, Yanagi and Saiga instead, they're going my way anyway."

The highly perceptible would've been able to compare the current expression on Yusei's face to that of a person's whose puppy just got run over by a bus.

It stung. Just a little.

Yusei quickly concealed his disappointment and shrugged. "Suit yourself," he said offhandedly and drove out of the stadium without a second look back and before Yanagi could volunteer himself again.

And now, on the morning of his 20th birthday, Yusei sat next to his D-Wheel, lost in thought as he reminisced over previous night's events.

He wasn't quite sure what to make of yesterday or what to read into it but, ultimately, he decided not to dwell on it. Besides, it wasn't as strange as the persistent dull ache in his left arm. Yusei would've found that quite irritating if it wasn't faint and easy to ignore.

So he finished his remaining breakfast and got to work: he needed to even out the indented splash guard on the front wheel and then paint it over. Although he could've easily gotten his D-Wheel fixed by paying some car shop to do the job, Yusei would never actually consider this option. This D-Wheel was one of his personal treasures and he refused to let anybody else fix or modify it (or even _touch _it) without him being present.

Yusei analyzed the problem in front of him and in seconds came up with a very simple solution.

After about half an hour – during which he removed the damaged splash guard and then primitively used a hammer to smash the dent back – the surface turned out to be moderately even. So he used the roller to flat out the bumps until the exterior was as smooth as it was before the collision. Lastly, he thoroughly polished it and put a careful and high quality red paintjob.

Yusei stepped back and admired his work. He permitted to commend himself on it and that wasn't something he'd done often.

It was 9:20am that he finished putting the remaining (and borderline neurotic) touches on the repair, when a tall and casually-dressed man pranced into the garage.

"Ehhh, Yusei? You're already finished?" Saiga exclaimed and almost dropped the big cup of coffee and bagpack he was holding, "But…I was supposed to help out!"

Yusei looked up and smiled. "It's okay, I couldn't sleep and got an early start."

"Anything left that I could do?" Saiga hoped.

"Well…" Yusei looked down at the splash guard in his hands, trying to think of something. "You could help me attach it back to the wheel, if you'd like."

Saiga nodded happily and then chuckled, "If I'm here early and you're already done imagine how disappointed Crow will be: he'll probably get here for 3pm if he manages to wake up!"

Yusei couldn't help but to grin.

It was a miniscule amount of time before the D-Wheel was completely fixed and ready to face the world. And once that was done with, Saiga presented the Signer with a birthday present: it was a new portable toolkit to aid him with any mechanical work on-the-go and Yusei was both surprised and incredibly grateful.

And the birthday visits didn't end there.

Around noon, Jack and Carly stopped by. Carly ended up snapping a picture of him – under a pretense that she'd run it in her journal's next issue and file it under celebrity birthdays – and Jack solemnly shook his hand.

They were great, as always.

A bit later on, Rua and Ruka also paid a visit.

Although the twins were now thirteen going on fourteen, they didn't really change much in the past two years. Their adolescence seemed to be going shockingly smooth considering the trying challenges in their whole lives and especially in the later years.

So Rua still wore the same sunny and bubbly demeanor as he did when Yusei first met him. His gray-gold eyes constantly glittered with excitement and nothing ever seemed to bring him down because he always had hope even when everything seemed lost.

That hope was his sister, Ruka. Ruka was younger and was the sweetest person anyone could have the pleasure of knowing. On the surface she seemed to be the more grown up of the two: she was calmer, quieter and more patient. But anybody who really knew the siblings knew that it wasn't exactly true. Ruka could at times be just as bubbly and carefree as her brother and Rua could take on a serious and controlled role in a heartbeat. Together, the twins were remarkably strong and an unstoppable force, forever protective and supportive of one another. It was obvious that even if the twins grew to become more differentiated with time, that their bond would _never_ be in question.

Perhaps the one truly noticeable difference between how the twins were two years ago and now was their height: they've grown at least three to four extra inches, although they were still the smallest of the Signers. And then there were a few details that gradually changed about them, day-by-day. Ruka now wore significantly more dresses and skirts, and recently discovered the wonders of make-up. Her new favourite thing was a lip gloss and she often changed colours, liking how such small and seemingly insignificant feature made her feel about herself: she felt pretty and bashfully feminine. And while Rua's appearance didn't change as much as his sister's, he did take liking to a black motorcycle jacket with a dragon stitched on its back which he now wore every day, even if it was insufferably humid out. The style of said jacket was suspiciously similar to Yusei's.

"Yusei, we found out just today from grandpa Yanagi that it was your birthday!" Rua exclaimed, his voice revealing subtle notes of sadness. He couldn't help but feel like he let down somebody he'd always looked up to.

"Sorry, Rua," Yusei reached out and ruffled the young boy's hair, "It just slipped my mind."

"How could you possibly forget your own birthday?" Rua was shocked, "A birthday is the most important holiday of the year! All the toys, and cake, and presents, and friends coming to celebrate, there is nothing better!"

"Oh Rua," Ruka sighed while Yusei smiled.

"Well anyway," Rua moved on, "Ruka and I found you something." He dug into pockets of his shorts and presented Yusei with a new duel card. It was a Trap called "Dragon's Retribution" which allowed a duelist to target a single dragon Monster on the field and inflict 300 points of damage per turn to whoever the (unfortunate) owner of that monster was. The trap card stopped working when the targeted dragon was no longer on the field.

"We thought that this was a useful card, Yusei, because if you ever face somebody with a dragon you could inflict some damage on them-" Ruka began explaining before Rua excitedly interrupted, "Yes, and maybe even cause them to release their targeted monster before you attack with Stardust!"

Yusei felt so touched, holding the card and looking at the two kids who cared and actually went and found something so thoughtful to give him. "Thank you, Rua, Ruka," he said from the bottom of his heart and bent down to give them hugs.

It was about a quarter past three when Crow finally made his grand appearance.

He broke into the garage with a bright expression on his face and a squished (he might've accidentally sat on it) homemade chocolate cake in his hands, and yelled out "HAPPY BIRTHDAY, YUSEI!" He was then stopped dead on his tracks when he realized that the whole gang was already there and that he was very late both to the party and to the D-Wheel repair.

"Nani?" he gaped with confusion, "Am I really that late?" and caused everyone to burst into laughter.

The rest of the day went by loudly, hectically, and happily.

More and more Yusei realized just how dear every single person in this room was to him. They were the best friends anyone could ever ask for and he'd protect them all until his very last breath.

However, Yusei was more than deeply aware that something was missing today.

Or, rather, _someone_.

Aki Izayoi.

Yusei didn't really want to admit it but her absence today kind of began to bother him more and more as each hour dragged on. And although he didn't let his inner turmoil affect his outward appearance, somehow Crow found out about it anyway. He was either a brilliant guesser or a mindreader but when, halfway through his duel with Rua, Crow casually glanced over at Yusei, Yusei could tell that the ginger knew exactly what and _who_ he was thinking about. A single word needn't be uttered.

Unfortunately it wasn't just a simple glance. A millisecond later Yusei distinguished annoyance in Crow's eyes and suddenly felt frustration of his own.

Crow could pretend to understand all he liked but the simple truth was that he _didn't_ understand. No, _couldn't._

Mostly because Yusei himself wasn't sure if he actually understood.

When it came to Aki Izayoi, a ruthless psychic duelist turned courageous Signer and now one of his closest and dearest friends, Yusei Fudo often felt uncharacteristically perplexed.

There was a point in time – Yusei wasn't exactly sure when it started or if there was anything that triggered it – but one day he simply realized that he thought about Aki quite differently from anyone else; especially compared to the rest of the Signers…who she was a part of, and the rest of his friends…who she, of course, was too. The first part of the mystery was _why_.

Why was she so different for him? Why couldn't he look at her and view her the same way he viewed everybody else? Was it because she was a girl that was close to his age bracket? No, because he knew plenty of girls, during every point of his life, and it wasn't like that with them. Was it because she was such a capable duelist? Well, no…because Jack and Crow were very strong duelists too and he _definitely_ didn't think about _them_ that way. Then…was it because she was one of the strongest and most kindhearted people he has ever known? Was it because of her determined but gentle personality? Because she was…beautiful? Or maybe because…her smile could light up the room? Whatever it was, once or twice (well, admittedly a _lot_ more times) Yusei caught himself mesmerized by the sun burning in the rose-red silk of her hair, or staring at her amber-brown eyes, the naturally red lips, the creamy unblemished skin…

And this was wrong.

This shouldn't have been happening.

These weren't platonic friend-borderline-sibling thoughts about another Signer but rather…almost like…that of a potential partner. It _wasn't_ how friends were supposed to like friends! A true friend wouldn't look at their buddy and think of the way the rim of her pleated school uniform skirt bounced as she walked; the way she'd cup her hand over her mouth to hide her giggle before breaking into laughter, a subtle blush touching her cheeks; or the way her eyes glistened happily and then, for a fleeting and almost invisible moment, there would be a tinge of inexplicable sadness in them…and she would avert her gaze.

More than once Yusei wondered, why? Why was she unhappy? What was it that bothered her? It seemed to him like the sadness he had seen in her before. That _pained_, tortured sadness entwined with powerful anger as she screamed words of hatred at anyone that dared to cross her path, to betray her…to forsaken her.

But then within the next moment she would glance back and there would be not a trace of that heavy worrisome glint. There'd be left only relaxed lightheartedness and a spark of amusement and…maybe curiosity?

And he would think he must've imagined it. Because she was happy now. Because she laughed so much now. Because she had defeated her inner demons. And he wouldn't see that sparkle of grief for months to come…but then it would abruptly resurface again and become a taunting, unresolved unease pinching somewhere deep in his chest.

And it was like that, just like that: when it came to her it were often these little things that seemed undetectable to others. Things he never thought he'd notice about anyone before.

There was this thing she sometimes did…where she absently combed her slender fingers through her hair and then pulled stray locks back from her temples. This exposed a small ear which normally hid under the soft mane of hair and revealed the elegant curve of her neck. Yusei didn't know why but he liked it when she did that. It was stupid and it didn't make any sense but for some reason he found it fascinating. But, to be fair, he had found her fascinating since the first day he'd laid his eyes upon her and he knew it. The day the hurricane blasted from a mysterious cloaked figure and whistled in his ears, the day his Crimson Dragon mark lit up and burned for the first time since his and Jack's battle, and the first time he saw that unforgettable red hair cascade about her, her face hidden by mask, and the first words she ever said to him. Two simple words spoken in that soft haunting voice: "You...too?"* And Yusei knew right then that she was like Jack and him; that she was a part of them; and that she was not to be feared, ridiculed or hated like everyone promoted, but that she was misunderstood. That even though she was incredibly powerful she was also vulnerable. And lonely.

Thankfully days like those were long past. Aki Izayoi was no longer a Black Rose Witch but a normal young adult living her life (if you discounted her involvement as a Signer), attending school, having many friends and loving parents who supported her every decision. That tormented pain has been replaced with happiness, and that emotionless white mask has been destroyed and replaced by those mesmerizing eyes and a dazzling smile.

Oh god, that smile.

The smile that could take all the troubles away. The smile that made everything better, brighter. The first time she smiled directly at him Yusei honestly almost lost his balance. He remembered staring at her, like a fool, as a sudden realization donned on him: she was beautiful. Aki Izayoi was beautiful and she was his friend.

But it wasn't just about her good looks. At times it felt like it was all about _contrast_: he was often covered in grime working in the garage and then Aki would drop by after class and she'd be just so…so…neat? Maybe a better word would be _radiant_. Everything about her would be impeccable to the lack of wrinkles on her uniform to her polished shoes to her glossy schoolbag. What he admired was not only the care she put into everything she did but to how _effortless_ it all was, too. How…elegant. Maybe that could be part of the explanation as to why he sometimes caught himself looking at her hands.

Once she stopped by and asked him for help with physics and he remembered watching her as she went at the problem after his explanation. Her brows were furrowed and a pink tongue peaked from the corner of her lips. When his eyes dropped to the notebook he became aware that her left hand was resting just centimeters away from his right. Sure they were sitting side-by-side at his work desk but it did surprise him since he saw just how easily he could've ended up touching her hand by accident. He didn't know why but the thought of that suddenly made him feel funny in the pit of his stomach; fluttery.

Yusei also noticed then, for the first time, how elegant her hands were. And how small compared to his. They were delicate and almost doll-like, donning an accurate manicure. In contrast, his own seemed rough and oversized, almost. It didn't help that there were a few motor oil stains on the back of his fingers.

What was probably more astounding was that it suddenly occurred to him that it'd take only a small stretch of his pinky finger before he could hook it with hers. He found himself analyzing both his strange desire to do that and the possible outcomes of that action. It would be such a miniscule movement and yet it would cross an impossible distance.

But what would he say when she'd stare at him and ask what it was that he was doing?

Could he pass it off as accident if she jerked her hand away or looked at him with bewilderment or, perhaps, disgust?

He wasn't sure. But for some reason he didn't want to think about any of this right now.

Slowly, dazedly, he began inching his finger towards hers when Aki exclaimed, "DONE!" and pushed her notebook over to him.

Yusei came to his senses, half relieved half disappointed. "Great," he said, clearing his throat, and quickly looked at the open pages.

Aki watched him, eagerly anticipating his response. But when long minutes passed with no feedback she impatiently urged, "So…um, is it correct?"

Yusei couldn't answer. For some reason he couldn't concentrate on the actual problem and found himself enthralled with her handwriting instead. It was small and neat, even in draft notes. His eyes also found a few random doodles on the bottom of the page. One of them was a small (albeit a little crooked) heart and the other was a flower which sort of resembled a rose.

Or, actually, maybe it was a stick-person…? Yeah, it looked more like a very wiggly stick-person.

"Yusei?" Aki called.

For a second time in minutes Yusei awoke from his stupefied daze. _What's wrong with me? _he thought, near panic. "It's great, Aki," he hurried to answer and returned the notebook to her. It wasn't a lie…it was a guess. Besides, he was more than certain that she did it correctly this time. She was very smart and it never took her more than one try to get something impeccably right. Sometimes he wondered why she asked for his tutoring to begin with.

"Yay," Aki said simply and beamed at him with that smile.

Yusei gaped at her, that fluttery feeling in his stomach returning to taunt him with increased strength, and then quickly looked away.

And this led into the second part of the mystery regarding Yusei Fudo's feelings towards Aki Izayoi. The mystery, of course, was what _were_ these feelings exactly.

He supposed he liked her…romantically, but unfortunately he had no real basis for comparison. He had a couple of crushes in his life; he had experienced casual liking; and he had a few rarer times when he felt what might've been lust. He had no real girlfriends – or, rather, infatuations that lasted past a couple of weeks or months – but he wasn't inexperienced in romance. But whatever _this_ was…it was different and nothing he'd ever faced before. There was physical attraction, definitely, but it wasn't _just_ that. For one, it lasted for almost two years now and instead of fading away it seemed to become stronger, more potent. You didn't just want the same person with same intensity and _greater_ after much time has passed, right? Person with whom you haven't exchanged so much as a few touches and not even a _hug_ until only recently, right?

It occurred to him a few times that this might have been…love. But that was a thought he pushed out of his mind as soon as it made its presence known. Because truth of the matter was that Yusei didn't actually know what love was. Love was never a pivotal theme in his life. Dreams…friendship…loyalty…strength…survival…_those_ were the themes that coloured his existence, and unfortunately there was never a place for love, whatever it could've been. And if love meant liking someone a lot and being willing to do anything at all for them, wanting to be there for them whenever and wherever, then…then perhaps he was in love with several people. Or maybe because love took such a backtrack to everything else when he was growing up that he was no longer actually capable of it; maybe there was a certain niche for this emotion and if not tapped into early on and properly developed…then maybe it just stopped existing.

But…Yusei also knew that it wasn't exactly true. He _knew_ that he loved his friends…Martha…his parents…and other select things and ideals. But maybe it wasn't love as much as it was _living_ for them, _breathing_ for them, and willing to _die_ for them. And it was kind of like that with Aki but it was still somehow different, and at times it was more.

And because Yusei wasn't certain that was why he never did anything about it. He never confessed his liking…his crush…his lust, his _whatever_ it was, to Aki. He never asked her out or did anything in ways that could, without a doubt, be interpreted as his interest in her. Because how could he?

Aki wasn't just a random girl, a stranger he saw on the street and found attractive. It wasn't someone with whom he could take a chance and walk away from if it didn't work. No, Aki was one of the Signers and, most important of all, she was his friend. If they did get together but it didn't turn out well, would they be able to reconcile? Would they be able to work as a team the same way they did before? Or would it change everything, or even _destroy_, and affect the destinies of other Signers and not just theirs?

How could he go on if he lost Aki as his friend? If they were no longer close, no longer supported each other, no longer _knew_ each other? No longer…saw each other? The imagined scenario of that was enough to send chills down Yusei's spine and make him feel borderline physically unwell.

So Yusei's uncertainty rendered him immobile in this matter. One of the things that were always expected of him was _being right_. Having not a speck of doubt. Knowing what was best. Because, in some obscure almost mystical way, fate has chosen him to be a leader. And Yusei accepted it and he wouldn't want anything other, but this came with responsibilities which often intimidated him. He couldn't stand the thought of letting anyone down, of being potentially wrong – not because he couldn't admit he was incorrect if someone pointed out the faults of his ways but because of the enormous weight some _final_ decisions of his ultimately held – and of losing anyone dear to him (the day Kiryu was taken away to prison was almost unbearable enough, but when the news of his death broke out a part of Yusei's heart had died, and it would've stayed so permanently if Kiryu hadn't returned). Thankfully, the few times Yusei had failed or lost his way, his friends were always there to catch him and to guide him, and he had learned from his mistakes and how to avoid similar failures in the future.

But unfortunately...this matter with Aki wasn't something he thought he could risk and not something friends could aid him with.

Crow was the first to ask and he was the one friend who genuinely tried to understand. Somehow – underneath his silly, often inattentive, and hotheaded demeanor – Crow managed to pick up on some subtle signs of Aki liking that Yusei had apparently given off and casually confronted him about it. "So you have a little crush on her, big deal," were his exact words and he encouraged for an actual date to resolve any sexual tension once and for all. This was right before the WRPGs too. And that was the first and last time Yusei had tried to verbalize what he felt but without revealing his more deep-seated issues and concerns, any of that insecure darkness within himself. He confessed to Crow that he was confused. That he didn't know what he wanted. And that he wasn't going to do anything until he was absolutely certain.

Crow's reply was simple.

First, he carefully asked if Yusei was really sure about being so unsure. And then he asked if that meant that Aki Izayoi wasn't off-limits.

It didn't matter if he was joking in that last part but Yusei only had one answer - "No." It wasn't possessiveness or lack of regard but rather a plea to a friend. Yusei asked Crow not to go after her _not _because he didn't care about his friend's feelings – because if Crow stepped up and revealed to _seriously_ liking her (since he was always a bit of a flirt) then it would've taken priority over Yusei's ambivalence and Yusei would've stepped back in a heartbeat – and _not_ because he wanted to assert some control over Aki. No, he asked because this ambivalence still caused him some heartache and because the few stabs of jealousy he'd experienced around her were more than enough to make him never want to experience them again.

Fortunately, Crow didn't seem to mind and only cheerfully encouraged him. That definitely eased any discomfort Yusei felt about the 'prohibition' he had involuntarily imposed.

Jack Atlas was another story. He only found out that Yusei had a thing for their mutual female friend when Crow explicitly notified him about it. His response? He fixed those violet and almost permanently harsh eyes on Yusei, contemplated for a few moments, and then simply told him to "Go out and get laid." And this was okay because nowadays Jack put his friends on par with his own interests, and so he meant well even if it seemed far off from normal people's definitions of good-at-the-moment advices. Still, he wasn't a right person to go to for sympathy or for suggestions regarding human behavior. He simply couldn't interpret or read others; that type of skill seemed almost beyond him. But he'd always offer grounded recommendations when it came to things like dueling or getting ahead. He never sugar coated anything – he always told you exactly what he thought, even if it was mean or hurtful, and every so often that type of truth was the most important to hear.

Lastly, twins Rua and Ruka didn't know anything about this and they didn't need to. Although Ruka once randomly pointed out to Yusei that he and Aki would make a good couple because they looked nice when they were together. Yusei wasn't quite sure what to make of that but he appreciated the comment.

Beyond the Signers (aside from Aki, obviously), Yusei never came close to confiding in anyone else regarding this subject; not Bruno not anyone from Satellite. He wouldn't even have talked about it at all if it wasn't for Crow. It was his own predicament and he didn't believe that talking to others could do much to solve personal issues.

And now, months after the WRPGs and, subsequently, the Arc Cradle, Yusei was still in the exactly same spot. And since those feelings weren't going away and he wasn't anywhere closer to making a decision, Yusei often resorted to simple techniques to ease his mind. It wasn't avoidance and it wasn't ignoring…but at times it was easier not to look at Aki, if he could resist the temptation; and being preoccupied with anything else – Team 5D's, Signer destinies, dueling, working on D-Wheels – sometimes helped him stop thinking about her. Ironically, she had become the _only_ person he knew about whom he'd think about the most and, simultaneously, the least. But he could never stop himself from dreaming. No, his dreams were impossible to stop and impossible to prevent from dipping into the pool of desires he had buried: desires he had so desperately tried to hide and suppress until they were no more; desires that were so vivid and aching in the unconscious reality that he'd wake up breathless, flushed, and guilty.

Nonetheless, Yusei somehow found an inner state where, dreams aside, he was doing quite okay. _Friends should only like each other as friends_, was his motto. That way friendship would be at its most real and pure, not sexual attraction hiding under the pretense of friendship only to turn away if affection wasn't reciprocated. It wouldn't be fair: not to Aki, not to himself, not to anyone. Everyone deserved only the very best and honest of him.

And yet still, sometimes on those days when the sky was sleepy gray, when a sense of greater and crushing purpose seemed impossibly far, when he'd be surrounded by his friends and they'd do nothing special but just be together, all of them, doing nothing at all…on those days Yusei would sometimes look over at Aki and his heart would both hurt and somehow grow brighter at the same time.

Yusei sighed and stared at the industrial-sized bottle of hair gel in his hands. It was, of course, Crow's actual birthday present to him in addition to the squished cake. Yusei was so engrossed in thought, absently running his eyes over the bottle's labels and the fine print, that he didn't realize that another person had entered the garage until he suddenly felt a gentle touch of a hand on his shoulder.

"Yusei…" he heard a soft feminine voice and his eyes widened. He quickly span around and came face to face with Aki.

"Aki…hi," he mumbled. "I-" he began and was instantly interrupted by excited screaming coming from Rua and Ruka.

"Aki-neesan!" the twins squealed as they ran up to the older girl and jumped to give her hugs. Aki pretty much became like a big sister to them and she herself considered them to be her younger siblings and loved them all the same.

"Aki-neesan, I heard that you almost got to meet Kaiba-sama last night. What a pity you didn't!" Rua exclaimed and Aki nodded with a sad smile. "It wasn't Kaiba Seto himself, actually, it was just supposed to be somebody on his behalf. Still the same, nobody came."

Yusei casually noticed that Aki wore her usual outfit with the corset and garters today instead of that gorgeous dress from last night (which was still quite fresh in his mind and, he guessed, in Crow's as well) but nonetheless she looked just as stunning. In fact, she always did.

When the twins ran away Aki faced the blue-eyed Signer again but now with a smile playing on her lips. "Happy birthday, Yusei," she said and then opened her purse, searching for something inside.

"Thanks, Aki," Yusei answered and suddenly imagined himself saying "I'm happy you're here, without you it's never the same". He unconsciously bit on his tongue: that vision felt so real that he could almost hear its echo in his ears. Instead, he offered her a polite smile.

"And um…I-ah…" Aki suddenly stuttered and drew in a breath, "I…I also got you something." Her fingers closed around the gift but she couldn't bring it out. Hesitating, she looked around uncomfortably, wishing for them to not have been surrounded by people.

Yusei swallowed in a throat suddenly dry as his pulse shot up to light speed. _She…got me something?_ he thought. Although that appeared to be a natural outcome of today it didn't change the fact that _she_ actually did it. As if her presence wasn't enough.

"Um…okay, here it is," Aki finally mastered the courage and took out something small wrapped up in a glistening red paper which successfully kept its contents hidden. She moved closer to him and placed the tiny bundle into his hand. For a fleeting precious moment her fingers touched his palm and Yusei felt like an electric charge passed through him. He actually wished it lasted longer.

"Aki…thank you," he said, unable to look at her now. Because there was a chance that his eyes would give it away. It. Whatever this turmoil of emotions could've been. "What is it?" he asked as he carefully began unwrapping the gift and soon enough a necklace was resting in his hand. It was a silver pendant shaped like an eye with a tear drop, like something from Ancient Egyptian mythology. It was held on a thick leather band and was something that seemed almost tailored for him.

"This is an Eye of Horus, Yusei," Aki answered bashfully, a hint of pink colouring her cheeks, "It's an ancient symbol of protection…and since you usually find yourself in trouble I thought that this could be something useful…" It was her turn to look away and she nervously played with her fingers, "Do you…do you like it?"

"I do," Yusei replied and he wholeheartedly meant it. He instantly put it on and when the necklace hung loosely around his neck, for an invisible moment a beam of sun bounced off it and it flickered. It was as if a hidden energy suddenly came alive. "Thank you, Aki, this is great," he added, not noticing anything out of the ordinary as he was now too busy gaping at her.

"Really?" Aki looked up and brightened with a smile, "I'm glad…"

The two Signers then simply gawked at each other for a couple of really awkward seconds.

Yusei really felt like giving her a hug but he worried it would come off as strange or, worse, _sexual_, especially since he was so conscious about his actions being interpreted as such. He's hugged Aki before but it was only that one impulsive time on her 19th birthday and when nobody else was around. It was also something that she seemed to be very uncomfortable with and afterwards Yusei felt really stupid for having done it.

Actually this brought up another issue related to Yusei's indecision regarding his feelings for Aki Izayoi. An issue that was maybe the most important: the fact that he didn't actually know what Aki's feelings for him were if she did, in fact, have any in particular.

To be fair, a few times he _did_ notice Aki looking at him in ways that could be interpreted as being interested in him. Or in some things she said or did. However, the actual timing of those threw him off. For example, he picked up a couple of those signals in the beginning of their friendship, close to when they've all defeated the Dark Signers. And then, around that time, she also closured him and explicitly thanked him for friendship and his believing in her. "You've done so much for me, Yusei," were her exact words, "I'm so thankful…I would've been lost without you." That pretty much rendered him speechless: he didn't think he actually did all that much besides offering her unconditional support. And she always had all the goodness and potential within her, he didn't need to create or instill it. She was misguided, yes, but she was not weak and he knew she would've found a right way eventually, with or without his help. And being thanked for friendship was an odd thing to experience.

Nonetheless, from that point on, Yusei wasn't sure if what he interpreted from her was actual liking or only gratitude mixed with some type of admiration. Maybe she thought she still needed him to guide her, something he thought she was strong enough for from the very beginning. He truly hoped that wasn't the case.

And then…there was Divine.

Divine was the leader of Arcadia organization and he was the one that took Aki in when she had no one else and roamed the streets. He also clouded Aki's mind and taught her that there'd be no one out there who'd accept her but him and Arcadia. He and his movement were also behind some seriously atrocious things. However, he was still a big part of Aki's life and there was no denying it. Yusei didn't know what kind of a relationship he and Aki had - it was really none of his business - and if it never went past teacher and student, or guardian and ward, or friends, or if it actually went into romantic or sexual…but whatever it was, Aki was absolutely crushed when Divine was gone. Even after she had found out that he had been using her and what Arcadia had been doing, Yusei could tell that his death had shaken her. It once even occurred to him that the inexplicable traces of sadness he at times observed in Aki were over Divine. Perhaps in some ways she still missed him, he who was a monster but who had nevertheless offered her kindness and acceptance when she was utterly alone.

So added to Yusei's own complicated uncertainty was his inability to interpret Aki's signals and the fact that she used to have a very influential male companion. Yusei was torn and hesitant to risk it, to risk rejection and to risk hurting all Signers all together. In addition to all that, lately Yusei began noticing that Aki had been slowly becoming a little more distant: she wasn't around as often, she had more friends outside of the group, and at times she seemed dreamy and spaced out during hangouts; as if she wasn't invested in all of them as much anymore. And those glances of possible attraction that he seemed to pick up from her before? Those were practically nonexistent now and he often attributed those to his own imagination.

Today he was so happy to see her and he just wanted to hug her and thank her both for coming here and for even bringing a gift. Today felt like a day from before, before it felt like she was slowly moving away, when they all hung out without troubles and hang-ups. But how could he tell her this? How could he give her so much as a hug after how she had reacted to the one he gave her only a month back?

Thankfully, the staring contest was interrupted by Rua screaming "Yes!" at the top of his lungs because he had just won a duel against Crow. And Crow standing there, looking ecstatic, as he was so proud of Rua for gaining impressive dueling skills over such a short amount of time.

By the time Yusei turned back to look at Aki she had already walked away to chat with Carly whom she'd recently befriended on a very close basis. And then it didn't take her long before she wished everybody good night, saying that she needed to leave. Although Rua and Ruka asked if they could tag along Aki assured them that next time would be better.

When she sped away on her D-Wheel, Crow walked up to Yusei's side as he stood by the open garage door, his blue eyes absently fixated upon her departing figure, and whistled. "Makes you wonder where she's hurrying off to, doesn't it, Yusei?" he remarked but Yusei just shrugged and looked away, refusing to give in to the bait.

It was around 8pm when the rest of the gang decided to depart.

They all wished him a happy 20th another couple of thousand of times and then dissipated in different directions, some in groups and others by themselves. Crow and Saiga offered that they go check out some bar uptown ("Maybe even a strip club," Crow suggested with a wink) but Yusei passed, citing fatigue as an excuse.

He actually did feel kind of tired and his arm still inexplicably ached around his left bicep, but he mostly didn't feel like watching Crow and Saiga get wasted (since he was never a drinker) or going to some shady strip club which were never his cup of tea.

When the last person finally left, Yusei picked up mail which he'd forgotten to get in the morning, locked up the garage, and then went upstairs to his small kitchen. There he brewed himself a cup of tea and quickly skimmed through the envelopes. Then among all the bills and advertisements something caught his eye.

It was a thin and kind of rumpled envelope with his name and address inscribed in careful handwriting and, curiously, in English.

There was no return address.

After studying it for a short while, Yusei opened it and saw that aside from a letter it contained something else. He took a look at the handwritten letter first and read:

"_My cards have been there for me every step of the way but now I am no longer a fit guardian for them, and no longer a capable container for their powers. Rather than let them be discovered by the wrong hands I have passed on my legacy to those I know can protect them and use their powers wisely. I entrust this one to you, Yusei Fudo. Use it as a means of protecting what you believe in and the ones you love,_

_Y.M_."

Once he finished, Yusei read it over a few more times trying to make sense of it. He was completely perplexed having no idea who this "Y.M." was or how he knew who he was or where he lived. In addition, although the letter itself was in Japanese, the honorifics were reversed as though it was written by a predominantly English speaker. It seemed this letter was out of country.

For a time, Yusei put the letter away and looked at the second component of the envelope. It was concealed in a brown paper and even then Yusei could've guessed that it must have been a Duel Monsters card.

But then, once he unwrapped it and gazed upon the card "entrusted" to him, his eyes widened from surprise.

Back at him was staring a red snarling dragon, twisted as if caught in a middle of flight, with a double mouth and numerous sets of teeth. It was an astonishing Level 10 monster with Attack/Defense of X000/X000, and with "Divine" Attribute.

Just as comprehension began sinking into him, Yusei suddenly felt as if his left arm had exploded. It was a sharp and overwhelming pain akin to his skin being set on fire and being carved into with a knife at the same time. He let out a cry of pain, dropped the card, and quickly grabbed onto the kitchen table to stop himself from falling over. Numbly, he felt warmth trickling down his arm.

The Egyptian God card of "The Sky Dragon of Osiris"** gracefully floated to the ground and then lay face up on the linoleum floor, catching the drops of his blood.

* * *

_*This is based on the subtitles translation of the Japanese dialogue. Japanese Aki said, "Omae mo?". Not sure what dubs made it like but I'm sure it's something similar of the sort – I mean, how else would you interpret "You too?" _

_**The Sky Dragon of Osiris (from Japanese subs) is "__**Slifer the Sky Dragon**__" in the English dub. Even though I'm used to "Slifer the Sky Dragon" as the card's name myself (since I watched the original Yu-Gi-Oh on 4Kids), I think that "the Sky Dragon of Osiris" sounds so much cooler (and it fits in with the fanfiction's plot better *hint*hint*). Besides, "Slifer the Sky Dragon" is much better as "Slifer the Executive Producer" anyway…yay for Yu-Gi-Oh Abridged ^.^_


	4. Chapter 3: A rose broken

_Author's Note:_

_So this is Chapter 3 and I have to admit that it is sort of a filler chapter. The thing is, I wanted to develop Aki as a character first before jumping into plot driven action and even though I planned to make it all into one chapter, Aki's development stretched to 8 pages and I figured that I might as well split this chapter into two. _

_So while the previous chapter was Yusei oriented, this chapter is solely Aki Izayoi oriented and explores Aki's thoughts, feelings and dilemmas regarding everything that's been going on._

_I hope you enjoy this pseudo-psychological analysis of a "Yu-Gi-Oh!" character and let me know what you think about it or if you have any advice to fix the possible crappiness. _

_Thank you for reading!_

_**NineInchNailed.**_

_**Update**: this chapter was updated on July 5th, 2011. I pretty much only added a paragraph or two depicting some additional emo thoughts Aki has regarding Yusei. Nothing groundbreaking. Why did I do this almost a year since it's been published? Because I'm crazy. **  
**_

* * *

_**"We are afraid to care too much, for fear that the other person does not care at all."**_

_Anonymous. _

* * *

Aki Izayoi loved four things in life, very dearly.

She loved the game of Duel Monsters. She loved the thrill, the exhilaration and the strength that duelling brought her. It was only through duelling that she was able to make herself heard and to vent out her frustration, her pain, her anger, her hate and…a few times…even her love. As a duellist she felt empowered and secure and it was only through those means that Aki felt like she was capable of defending herself. And her cards, especially her beautiful and sacred Black Rose Dragon, were her shields against attacks – verbal and physical. She also treasured her D-Wheel which allowed her to experience duelling on a whole new level which bordered on almost metaphysical. Her self-loathing towards her treacherous powers, furthermore, did not inhibit her undying love for duels.

She loved roses and, especially, red roses. They were her favourite flowers (which she thought was made pretty obvious by her duelling deck) and she always felt emotionally connected with them. Her explanation for this bond was drawn from her memories.

When she turned 14 years old, her frightened and confused parents decided to send her away to the Duel Academy. An hour before a car was supposed to arrive and pick her up, Aki ran away and hid in the colossal garden behind her house. There, sitting under that cloudless and perfect blue sky, on that perfect trimmed grass, surrounded by those perfect flowers, the imperfect teenage girl – a _freak_ of nature – fought against her tears. She knew that crying wouldn't solve anything: it wouldn't miraculously take away her powers, it wouldn't get her parents to change their minds, and it wouldn't make her parents love her again. But she was hurt. She was hurt and she was alone, and there was no force strong enough to stop tears from rolling down her cheeks. Absently, Aki fixed her glistening eyes on a blooming bush of red roses, the shadow of which concealed her. She ripped off a flower and felt a sting on her skin. This was a blossom as lovely as it was vicious and she thought there could be nothing more beautiful; more flawless. Melancholically, Aki began pressing her fingertips against the thorns until a light prick turned to pain and she drew her own blood. She then squeezed the rose in her fist and, with her blood now blending in with delicate rumpled petals, she felt strangely at peace. The last traces of tears dried on Aki's serene face as she came to a wonderful conclusion.

From this day forth she would metaphorically become like a rose herself. She would be beautiful on the outside but hide her true inner self – that which was unsightly; she would appear fragile but be fierce if anyone attempted to get too close. Her thorns would protect her against those who are disgusted by her and who, overwhelmed with fear of unknown, could retaliate against her with violence. She would build a wall to defend herself from the world as it was the only way to keep herself from getting hurt. Because she also knew that there would be more pain to come in the future; likely worse too.

With silent and heartbroken acceptance, young Aki came out of her temporary garden sanctuary and finally complied with her parents' wishes and left her home to live in the Duel Academy.

Things have changed drastically in these past 5 years and today Aki Izayoi still loved roses although she now attached a greater aesthetic quality to them rather than the melancholia of her teenage years.

The third thing Aki loved was rain. The soothing whispering sound of raindrops, the gloomy sky, the distant rumbling of thunder and an occasional spark of lightning illuminating the sky... She used to like sitting on the windowsill of the Duel Academy tower and simply observe, entranced, as the cars splashed by, or the drops of water rolling down the fogged up window, all the while feeling warm and safe. Nowadays, Aki preferred the sound of the rain hitting the fibreglass shield of her helmet as she drove through the city on her D-Wheel.

And, above all else, Aki loved...Yusei Fudo. She loved him as her friend: he was trustworthy, supportive, loyal, dependable and protective. She loved him as her saviour: he showed her the right way when she was lost in the deception of the Arcadia Movement, and helped her reconcile with her parents after many years of disarray. And she also loved him...or rather was_ in_ love with him as a man that he was: strong, honourable, passionate, independent, serious, street smart and book smart, thoughtful, caring, kind, selfless, compassionate… and he also turned out to be stunningly handsome, to boot. Aki knew that the day she was unable to list a single flaw and ran out of fingers and toes to count all of his good qualities that she was in trouble. She knew that she loved him and that she loved him deeply, wholeheartedly…and hopelessly.

It didn't start out like this, however. Aki never really planned for this to happen and she would have never willingly chosen for this to happen either. She knew she had some bad attachment ...issues: she progressed from severe avoidant attachment patterns – as a result of being abandoned by her parents – to intense anxious attachment – as a result of being sheltered and soothed by only one person, Divine. After being by herself for so long and shunned by everyone she anxiously held onto Divine, giving up all of herself and her free will to him. She didn't care that she could've been taken advantage of – she just _needed_ a place to belong and a person to protect her, at least for once in her life. She turned a blind eye to the Arcadia Movement's antics and went along with everything as long as they accepted her for who she was. And Divine…he might not have had the best intentions in mind but he saved her, gave her shelter and support, and she could not have been any more grateful. And...she loved him – she was willing to stay with him forever – but, on the other hand, she was not _in_ love with him. In fact, the few times he had touched her with...certain different intentions, she actually felt a little disturbed. But then again, she knew that she owed him...and she was well aware that he knew that too.

The day she watched Divine die in front of her was the day she felt like she'd never have a home again or somebody to help her. She had lost a confidant, a caregiver, a friend, and the only man who cared and showed sentiment towards her. She also felt exposed, like she was thrown out into to the whole world again with an open invitation for more persecution and violence to occur against her.

That's why when Yusei Fudo entered the picture, tried to break through to her and to convince her that she should never give up on herself, and then promised that he'd always be a shoulder for her to lean on, that he had such an astonishing impact on her. Right after hers and Yusei's first duel, she began to slip away from Divine and everything Arcadia stood for. The guilt she felt when she found out about the cruel experiments that Arcadians performed was beyond overwhelming: her naivety and her desperation to belong inhibited her common sense and morality. She probably could've suspected that something strange was going on and she probably could've prevented all that pain and death – and yet, her own self preservation was far more critical for her. Aki was never going to forgive herself but Yusei was there to hold her up and to tell her that he had no right to judge anyone and that, regardless of _anything_, he'd always accept her. He helped her get through her loss, intolerable guilt, and near mental disintegration.

So Aki was very cautious: she didn't _ever_ wish to find a replacement for Divine in Yusei and to use him as a container of her free will, and so she resisted her feelings for a time. She attributed the first traces of liking to her own problematic issues of attachment and fought against them – she denied herself the very simple fact that ever since the first time she had laid her eyes upon him she had always, irrevocably, found him attractive. That, once the Signers assembled together and went to fight against the Dark Signers, Yusei's mere presence began to bring a smile to her face and that, in those moments, she'd feel the happiest she's ever been. And that, by the time the city finished its months-long recovery after the Signer battles, she now lived constantly with _him_ in her heart, a kind of sweet hurtful ache that at times made her tremble.

It was closer to the WRPGs – when the six of them and Bruno became the Team 5D's – that Aki, finally and with despair, understood that what she felt for Yusei Fudo simply couldn't be attachment or a schoolgirl crush based on gratitude. Although, all along, she had a worrying suspicion that she loved him a little...she just knew then, without a grain of doubt, that she was madly, head-over-heels in love. And this love consumed her, she lived and breathed it. She _longed_ to be near him. To be touched by him. And...to be looked at in the same way that she looked at him.

Aki really couldn't figure out if Yusei felt anything towards her or if he couldn't reciprocate her feelings at all. Sometimes she would catch him looking at her, almost dreamily it would seem, but then next he'd be looking at his cards or his constantly upgrading D-Wheel with the same type of expression. Other times he would offer her a compliment over her duelling skills and other times, like the recent time that she wore a beautiful dress for the gala (and she, herself, felt quite beautiful), he wouldn't say anything or not even notice. And occasionally there would be a time when he would practically ask her out – such as the time they went rollerblading – and, when she would anxiously show up, he'd do everything in his power to indicate that this was anything but a real date by asking other people (Rua and Ruka) to come without telling her! But the greatest source for Aki's confusion over Yusei's mixed signals _by far..._was his apparent interest in other women.

She had occasionally overheard from the guys that he (Yusei), Crow, Saiga and Jack often went out to bars and some hot spots. They were very hush about it and never brought up this topic when she, Carly and the twins were around, but she had walked in on a few fleeting conversations such as these. Carly also confirmed that Jack did go out beyond their general hangouts and Crow, once, offhandedly bragged about the attractive girls they met the night before. Nonetheless, Aki wasn't very concerned and didn't attach any importance to this issue. It was inconceivable to her that Yusei could be actively interested in some other women – she was convinced that for a meanwhile he was in a duelling stage and only concerned about tournaments and D-Wheel upgrades. But this was until the two terrible weeks of March happened, her birthday month.

In March, Aki came to see Yusei early in the morning because she wanted him to fix the rusting on the bottom of her D-Wheel. She didn't let him know beforehand that she was going to stop by and she had no idea that he went out with Jack, Crow and Saiga the night before. He promptly opened the door to her excited knocking and she saw him standing there, looking drowsy with sleep, and wearing rumpled clothes which he had apparently put on in a hurry. It was unlike Yusei to sleep-in late but the only thing Aki could pay attention to was the fact that he was shirtless even though he made an effort to throw a blue jacket over his shoulders. She remembered being completely stunned by his toned abs, forgetting what she was doing at his house to begin with. How did a card-playing mechanic have a body like this and since when?

"What's going on, Aki?" Yusei asked as he groggily rubbed his eyes.

With a blush rising to her cheeks, Aki looked up into the mesmerizing blue of his eyes (it truly was the most unique and beautiful colour she had ever seen) and smiled, opening her mouth to answer when... she felt a chill of horror stab through her heart.

There was a fresh love bite on his neck.

Instantly a terrible image popped into Aki's head of some drunk girl straddling him and sucking on his neck, and then him pulling that slut into a passionate kiss.

"Aki?"

Maybe...maybe she was in his bed right now. Maybe that's why he was in such sloppy dress.

Room began to spin before her eyes and Aki felt nausea bubbling in her stomach. She stumbled a little and squeezed her eyes shut.

"...Aki? Is everything okay?"

She was going to be sick. Right here. Right in front of him. She'd be sick and the man she loved would turn away in disgust or, worse, lead her inside where she might actually _see_ this woman. Another woman who might be just lounging there. Wearing rumpled clothes...or none at all.

"You're..."

Those bone-chilling thoughts finally brought her back to her senses and Aki pried her dying eyes open. Trying to keep her voice from shaking, she mumbled that she had forgotten something at home. Her refusal to look at him made her miss the concerned look on his face – being that he saw her abruptly become noticeably paler and look like she was about to faint – and, further, she didn't wait for his response and just turned and ran out of his house as fast as humanly possible. She sped home on her D-Wheel, miraculously without getting into any road accidents, and then in her room collapsed on her bed and cried until she felt like there were no tears left in the whole world.

It was then that Aki had come to a decision that _this_ could no longer continue: she knew that she just couldn't go on waiting for Yusei and hoping that someday he'd return her affection. Rejection was always one of her most prominent fears and what she saw that day only confirmed to her that she was right to have had doubts all along. She just couldn't waste any more time than the two long and unbearable years that have already been wasted. It pained her but it was the right thing to do; it would only hurt her more in the long run if she kept waiting; wishing; dreaming.

But Aki couldn't bear to face him after what had happened and pretended to be sick for two weeks (although, technically, she was quite sick but emotionally). She had only seen Carly during the meanwhile, and she explained everything to her and Carly, who had always known about Aki's feelings, offered her support and comfort, just like she always did over this matter.

A much worse thing occurred when those two weeks had passed.

Exactly fourteen days since she saw Yusei Aki had her 19th birthday which she hoped everybody would forget about. But that didn't turn out like she hoped it would because, first, her parents congratulated her early in the morning (and this she didn't mind), and then Carly gave her a call, apologizing for being unable to stop by today. Aki was quite alright with the turn out and spent the rest of the day in her room, reading a textbook, until her mother knocked on her door in the evening and told her that there was somebody at the front door to see her. Surprised, Aki slapped the boring book shut and hurried downstairs, actually delighted that Carly had managed to make a trip here anyway.

To her greatest dismay it wasn't Carly that had come to see her. It was Yusei.

The raven-haired Signer donned his usual outfit with jeans, blue long-sleeved jacket, and a black t-shirt. He stood in the foyer of her house, his posture impeccable, and his expression as composed and unreadable as ever, and calmly looking up at her as she stood paralyzed at the top of the stairs. He was holding something behind his back, presumably his motorbike helmet. Aki's mother and family butler had inexplicably vanished and gave the two duellists the privacy Aki absolutely detested.

"Happy 19th, Aki. I know you've been sick for these past two weeks but I was worried about you being sick on your birthday so I decided to stop by. I hope that's okay," Yusei said, surprisingly verbose at this moment.

Aki was frozen in one spot, speechless, and her eyes wide. She was completely mortified. She wasn't ready to see him, she hasn't yet gotten her emotions under control, and she wasn't at all prepared for him aesthetically – she hadn't brushed her hair, she was wearing her comfortable home clothes, and she wasn't wearing any make up. She imagined she looked so gross that she involuntarily marvelled how he hadn't yet ran away screaming.

"Um...th-thanks, Yusei," Aki finally managed to mumble, completely embarrassed, and put on a smile as she slowly began making her way towards him. All in the process she anxiously smoothed her hair and her clothes, trying to look a bit more presentable.

Yusei still stood motionless with his hands behind his back and waited for her to get closer.

When Aki finally neared him, she quickly glanced at his neck and with relief wasn't able to see any love bites. But she actually felt worse when she stopped looking – she realized that she was still desperately clinging to the hope that he would no longer be dating anybody else and that, instead, he would want to be with her.

"Happy birthday, Aki," Yusei repeated and with a smile presented her with a bouquet of red roses. It was quite large, to the point where it was astonishing how he managed to conceal all of it considering his rather slender frame.

A short breath escaped Aki's lips as she stared at the roses he was holding. It was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen. The arrangement itself was flawless, the light limonium greens playing up the contrast of the twenty four scarlet flowers that were bloomed to perfection to reveal the shade of most exquisite red wine. It was the colour of the most intimate passion, something she'd never known and would never know with the man presenting her with this gift. The sweet aroma of the roses reached her senses.

Aki's gaze turned glassy as her eyes began watering. This...this was just..._cruel_ – why was he doing this? It was almost like he was oblivious to everything and didn't even realize how much seeing him all those days earlier impacted her! She dazedly reached out and accepted the bouquet from his hands, nodding with that fake smile and concentrating very hard on thinking about something else instead of the torture that was happening right in front of her. Her thoughts trailed off to the beach… sunset… ice cream… duel cards… her friends… Yusei… Yusei… Yusei, oh no, her thoughts always, _always_, returned to Yusei.

"And there is somebody I would like you to meet," Yusei continued and quickly ran outside to his D-Wheel, picked up a little bundle, and then came back just to carefully hand her a small black furred kitten with bright yellow eyes. "His name is Yami and he needs somebody to take care of him. Would you like to be that somebody?" he asked cheerfully. Light was dancing within the amazing oceans of his eyes and there was a bright smile on his lips.

If Aki had had the courage to meet his gaze right then she would have seen it. _It_, the absolute happiness radiating from him as he looked upon her.

But Aki didn't look. Instead, with her ripped heart sinking (_drowning_,_ suffocating_) her eyes were fixed on the kitten and the roses, the most thoughtful and precious gifts of her entire life given to her by the man she loved; by the man who didn't (or couldn't?) love her in return. "Yami…" she whispered, petting the adorable little creature in her arms and hearing it purr. Her pulse was racing in the violent quarrel between her relentless affection and her incredulous pain. "Thank...you, Yusei," she said almost too quiet for him to hear. Her tears were clouding her vision now and so she inconspicuously nuzzled to the kitten in order to hide the evidence of her hurt.

Even if Yusei had noticed that something was off with her he really didn't attempt to do or say anything about it. At most it just appeared that he wasn't smiling as brightly as he did seconds ago.

"You're...welcome," he replied with a strange pause and then just stood there, staring at her.

A silence loomed over them.

Aki didn't know how long this agony would last and was praying for her parents to call her or for a phone to ring or _anything at all_ to interrupt this. Her self control was holding by a thread. Was he being this cruel on purpose? Did he notice her slipping away earlier and decided to come over today just to keep her on his leash? Or was he doing this because he actually cared about her? Then wouldn't he realize that this is doing nothing but just making things worse? _Or maybe_, she suddenly thought,_ Maybe this is a sign of his_ friendship.

Aki shifted uncomfortably, stubbornly avoiding looking at him and now with her gaze randomly glued to his shoes. They were the same boots he usually wore – those brown motorcycle ones – but today they caught her eye in that they seemed...more brown than usual. Did that make any sense? After a few moments she realized what it actually was: they were thoroughly and carefully polished. There was usually some dust or motor oil on them – not that she cared, she actually always liked the fact that Yusei never seemed obsessed about his looks (unlike Jack who spent hours lovingly gazing at himself in the mirror) – but today his boots were impeccable, almost as if new from a box.

"Aki..."

Quietly astonished, Aki slowly began moving her gaze up from his shoes, finally noticing that the rest of his outfit was also utterly spotless; borderline wrinkle-free. He obviously took great care in his appearance before coming to see her today, for whatever mysterious reason.

When Aki lastly but hesitantly met his stare (praying that there was not a hint of tears in hers), she saw something strange. The cobalt blue eyes peering back at her were as thoughtful as they've always been but, this time...they were also somehow as clear as crystal.

The thing about Yusei was that he always seemed to be studying everything around him; always analyzing, always thinking. He never simply _looked _at something - he tended to almost cross-examine. She didn't know if he did it on purpose or without realizing it but he had, by far, the most intense gaze she had ever come across. He could be so intimidating sometimes. A single glance had the potential to make her feel so uncomfortable; so exposed. And it didn't make too much sense because Yusei once told her that he'd never judge her, that he'd always accept her... But now and then Aki couldn't shake off a paranoid feeling that he could somehow tell - just through a brief glimpse into her eyes - exactly what she was thinking about; like he could _see_ every embarrassing image her mind conjured up of him...and her...of the two of them together. On the other hand, Aki could never tell what _he_ was thinking about. They've been friends for a long time now and even then she could never guess, could never predict. Perhaps it was because him and her never became as close of friends as he was with Jack and Crow; but then again, nobody could come close to those guys' bond. Or maybe it was simply because he never tended to speak much and, when he did, he'd always try getting to the point in as fewer words as possible. The occasions when he was as talkative as, say, a "normal" person were not very frequent. He was also capable of lapsing into such long and thoughtful silences that they could probably make Socrates himself feel ashamed. So on top of occasional difficulty Aki felt just by having to keep eye contact with Yusei for longer than a couple of seconds, it was also a challenge to speak to him. Aki sometimes couldn't help but contrast just how much easier it was to talk to Crow - about any topic and concern (except about Yusei, of course) - because he was so open and carefree; it was rare for him not to have a big grin on his face and he had a great sense of humour. She never felt uncomfrotable around him and he was easy to be friends with...but Aki also knew that she never had sexual tension inhibit her behaviour around Crow, unlike how she had with Yusei.

Regardless, whatever the true reason for it was, Yusei Fudo remained an enigma to Aki, that impossibly deep sapphire of his eyes as fascinating to her as it was cloudy.

And Aki always knew that it were precisely his eyes that had first captured her. They simply _burned _into everything that commanded his attention. Aki recalled clearly how profoundly this calculating gaze of his had _shaken _her right before his and her duel in the Fortune Cup finals.* When she came face-to-face with him and when he was only known to her as the mysterious man from Satellite who bore a crimson symbol on his arm alike to hers. ("Fudo Yusei, that's his name," Divine told her earlier, "Competent duellist but he's still and always will be only Satellite _scum._" Divine spat the last word with such bitterness that it surprised Aki. It wasn't like him to care about social status. Aki knew she didn't: she came from the most privileged of backgrounds and she was still a freak of nature. Perhaps if, like this Yusei from Satellite, she bore a criminal marker on her face then people would fear her less; maybe it'd give them a greater reason to hate on her rather than be afraid of her. Aki didn't mind being disliked – it was the terror in people's eyes that drove her mad.) This Yusei Fudo – her next duel opponent – stopped in his tracks and regarded her as she, herself, stopped just a single pace away from him. Or, rather, his stare _pierced_ into her and Aki felt as if he was somehow peering into the darkest centre of her heart – into all the hideousness she had hidden and desperately locked away – and it was overwhelming; it felt like she was violated. And then he spoke up - in that deep, calm and soothing voice - and asked her about her mark and why she considered it to be "wretched". Aki cringed and clung to that awful birthmark on her forearm, feeling only pain as it suddenly pulsated in new waves through every fibre of her being. Who was this Yusei Fudo really and why did he want to know this about her? Why did he even care? And why, god oh why, was he looking at her like this? She had never before felt so transparent, so forcibly open to someone, and aside from loathing she actually felt _frightened. _She wanted to scream, to push this man as far away from her as she could. Sometime after, Aki knew that Yusei was only trying to understand her, to see what was hurting her, to help her... But at that moment she felt only hostility, only the deepest hatred and fear of this man. Of this stranger who, for some unknown reason, tried to rip through the thorned fence surrounding her flawed heart and _succeeded_ by nearly skinning her in the process. With just a _single glance_.

Because the day those haunting blue eyes had fixed upon hers, had studied her and _read_ her for the first time_, _was the day they've become permanently imprinted in her soul.

But now, right now, his gaze wasn't burning into her. It didn't feel at all like he was trying to read her. Somehow, Aki felt like...like he was permitting _her_ to read _him. _At this moment Yusei suddenly seemed open to her. She didn't think it was possible but he looked almost _vulnerable_.

Aki stared at him, trying to comprehend what it was she was seeing, but he didn't give any time for her interpretation to occur.

Because then the horrible thing happened, something that Aki could never have imagined.

Yusei embraced her.

This was the first hug that the two of them had ever shared. Aki remembered how she had often imagined what hugging Yusei would feel like – she always imagined that it would be warm and strong, that she would feel safe and secure in his arms, and that he would smell like a pleasant mix of cologne and probably car oil. Additionally, Aki always envisioned that his embrace would be intensely erotic.

She was right – he was warm and strong, and he smelled incredible with an inimitable mix of shampoo, cologne and garage works. But she was wrong about one thing – there was no way that she could interpret this highly anticipated event as sexy in any way. Aki was locked into her position and with her gifts cradled in her arms, staring blankly at the wall on the opposite side of the room. She frantically tried thinking of what to do or how to react. She felt like she had been stabbed – she wanted to feel him as close as this for so long and when this finally happened she wanted anything but. His touch burnt her skin like fire and his soft breath scalded her neck. His timing just couldn't possibly have been any worse.

She managed to release one of her hands and awkwardly patted his back. It was almost like she was saying "Aww, there, there".

Yusei hastily released her and took a large step back. Aki didn't get to catch his expression because he was already fastening his helmet and concealing his eyes behind the darkened glass.

"Have a good night, then. Take care of Yami and _do_ come out to see us tomorrow, Aki," Yusei said and, without waiting for her reply, gave her a quick indifferent wave and departed. In seconds she was watching him mount his D-Wheel and speed back to the city.

The awkward and painful magic of her 19th birthday allowed Aki to reach a few very final conclusions: firstly, she accepted the fact that Yusei – even if he's not completely oblivious to her feelings – will not attempt to reciprocate. Secondly, she accepted that he most likely viewed her as his friend only and that he might not want to do anything that could potentially jeopardize their friendship. Thirdly, Aki concluded that she will not attempt to lose him as a friend just because she felt for him so _much_ more than that. She knew that she could not bear losing him and that she'd much rather have him as a friend than not have him in her life at all. Thus, lastly, Aki concluded that she will do anything in her power to keep loving Yusei as a friend but that she will no longer keep loving him unconditionally as a man. No, not anymore.

When Aki came to see him and the whole gang the following day – as he had asked of her – everything was alright although a little awkward at first. But thankfully that passed quickly. What mattered was that they were all still together, and still duelling and joking around, but Yusei and Aki, in some sort of mutual understanding, never brought up what happened on her birthday. And Aki decided that this was completely okay. Gradually and quietly she began to pull away from the lead Signer, forcing herself to stop watching for his every move and to stop jumping with excitement whenever there was a chance to be near him. It was enough of that and she had to be strong. So, instead, Aki began turning her attention to other men and, notably, men that were _outside_ of her circle of friends since, aside from Yusei, she was never interested in any of her guy friends.

And then, when in June she came to see Yusei on his 20th birthday, this emotional gap between them remained even though unnoticeable to everyone and including Yusei himself, it seemed. She still cared about him deeply, however, and so she put great care in picking out a gift for him which could possibly match his own thoughtfulness in presents. The necklace with the Eye of Horus wasn't what she thought she'd ever end up giving him but when she saw it on a display at the store she just had a feeling like this was...right, like this was what might be good for him. And then watching him accept her gift and wear it right away brought familiar joy to her, that pure happiness that she always experienced around him and which she had been trying to restrain for months now. She then instantly tried to suppress that surge of feelings by reminding herself that she simply _could not_ continue being hung up on him.

And Aki knew that everybody (and possibly Yusei too), wanted her to stay and hang out but today, out of all of the days, she couldn't. As Aki walked away from all of them she had a distinct feeling that Yusei was watching her but she did not permit herself to look back:

She had a date with another man tonight, on Yusei's 20th birthday, and she couldn't allow for any possibility that Yusei could be able to read it in her now permanently disheartened eyes.

* * *

_*That whole paragraph (except for the conversation between Aki and Divine) is describing the scene in the episode 23 of anime (and my own emo interpretation) when Yusei and Aki were walking down different hallways and then abruptly met up, and had this whole staring contest going. It was really hot...  
_

_After chapter rant: Ooooooooh, drama!...well, kind of. But stay tuned for the next chapter which promises to be much more action oriented rather than just thoughts, feelings and rainbows! _

_So next chapter, will we find out who Aki goes on a date with? Will we find out what exactly happened to Yusei when an Egyptian god card was revealed to him? Will Yusei find out about Aki's date? Will a villain of the story make his first appearance? WILL CROW FINALLY GET LAID (joking...he already did *wink wink*)?_

_Stay tuned and you (might) find out! _


	5. Chapter 4: There will be blood

_Author's Note:_

_So this Chapter took forever to write - it's very long! I also think that it took me ages to write it because there is __**actual**__ duelling in this Chapter, and I'm really bad at Yu-Gi-Oh cards! _

_I tried very hard to follow all the rules of the duel and to include some cool and different (and real) cards. But Aki's deck is the same one we see in anime (the field deck, not racing), I didn't add anything new or make anything up. For the villain, however…yeah, I did make up __**two**__ cards. But to be fair they make sense in the context of the story and all other cards the villain uses besides the two at the end are real cards. I included some descriptions of monsters to make the duel sound more exciting – you can check out some of those descriptions online where available. _

_I also included a brief summary before and after each duellist's turn in order to make it less confusing._

_Now, if you're like me, and don't really care for Yu-Gi-Oh duels unless they involve some character development and badassery then don't worry – there won't be too many duels in this fanfic. On the other hand, if you really love card duels, then don't worry either – there will still be some duels._

_So thank you so much for reading and enjoy!_

_**NineInchNailed**__._

_**Update**__:__ this chapter underwent a slight rewrite (grammar, writing style, etc) on July 27, 2011. Plot-wise, I added some imagery and feelings here and there, but overall nothing eventful. It's still within continuity. _

* * *

"_**Deep**__** into that darkness peering, long I stood there, wondering, fearing, doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before."**_

_~Edgar Allan Poe_

* * *

At about thirty past five in the evening Aki Izayoi sat by the coffee table, impatiently checking her watch, and sipping on some overpriced coffee.

He was running late for over 30 minutes now.

His name was Ichiro Fukamachi and she met him last night at Kaiba's greeting gala. Well, technically, she'd seen him around the Academy before but she officially met him yesterday when he walked up to her and introduced himself. Accordingly with her new and healthy Yusei-free attitude, Aki tried very hard not to compare the new guy to Yusei and point out any of his "flaws" i.e. features that Yusei possessed and Ichiro didn't. And thus, she made an effort to identify that Ichiro was much taller than her – probably as tall as Jack – had nice brown hair, hazel eyes, and a cute dimpled smile.

This Ichiro approached her in order to ask her for a dance but (in-between shock, bewilderment and delight) flustered Aki refused: for some reason she just couldn't do it. She wasn't in the mood, perhaps. Nonetheless she was beyond flattered and delighted: it wasn't every day that she was treated like a normal person; some people still managed to recognize her as a Black Rose Witch that wrecked chaos during the Fortune Cup due to her inexplicable and terrifying powers. It hurt, sometimes, to hear these things (although most people tended to hiss behind her back it still often happened within her hearing range) but thankfully she was subjected to them rarer and rarer, and _never_ when she was with all her friends. And she kept her abilities very hidden and couldn't even recall the last time she had used them; sometimes she liked to think (and hope) that they have gone away for good.

And at the gala Aki wasn't looking the way she usually did and so she thought that that was probably the main reason for the lack of harassment towards the "Black Rose Witch" that night. She wanted to optimistically assume that because she looked kind of pretty and non-threatening dressed like this that people – even those who already knew her as a psychic duellist – weren't as threatened by her as they usually were.

Although she rejected him, Ichiro decided to stick around regardless and instigated a conversation with her. With that, Aki happily complied. She decided to be a bit more informal and only gave him her first name and not her family name and Ichiro didn't seem to notice. She learned that he was a grade ahead of her and that he's never actually seen her around until today, and that he came to the gala because he was dying to see somebody from an actual Kaiba clan to make an appearance.

"I mean, the Kaiba family is responsible for almost _everything_ that we know today!" Ichiro was saying excitedly, "And Kaiba Seto, the patriarch, he's a real legend! My father told me a story about how twenty years ago, when Kaiba Seto was departing from Japan for good – and this was a couple of years before the split between Neo Domino and Satellite happened, just so you know - and how, just before getting on a plane, Kaiba Seto turned to the crowd, then looked up towards the skyscrapers of then Domino City and said…" Ichiro paused then, for dramatic purposes, "He said, "_This city will devour in its pain_." And then he left. I was only about a year old when that happened so obviously I don't remember…"

Although Ichiro went on Aki stopped paying attention at that point. She was feeling slightly bored. She couldn't really figure why Ichiro was telling her this old tale. Maybe he was trying to impress her? Whatever it was, this story about Seto Kaiba's supposed last words was quite well known. People liked to speculate that Kaiba – who was pretty much the Bill Gates of Neo Domino – predicted the monstrous split in the cities due to old Momentum. It was, however, only a myth – it was never truly confirmed that it _was_ what Kaiba said and most reasoned that his words were simply taken out of context.

But since Aki didn't want to be rude she just continued smiling and nodding to Ichiro's words. Involuntarily, she thought about Yusei and wondered what he was doing right now. Duelling practice, probably. She checked her mobile in case he, Crow or Carly left her messages asking where she was. But there were none.

"So, Aki-san…" Ichiro started to say and looked away, nervously smoothing back his hair, "Would you, maybe, like to get a cup of coffee with me, or something, tomorrow evening? You know, if you'd like to of course."

"Oh," Aki's face acquired a bright blush. This was the first time this has ever happened to her. She was being asked out. On a date. For real. With no hidden agenda, no prejudice about her "condition", no nothing. This was bliss.

…Or, at least, _close_ to bliss because, after all, it was somebody other than Yusei asking her out.

"Yes, I'd love to," she replied with a bashful smile and Ichiro returned a shy smile in return. They exchanged phone numbers, went separate ways after the failed gala was over, and he texted her less than a minute later saying that he couldn't wait to see her tomorrow. Subsequently, she got a call from Carly asking where she was and inviting her to attend Crow's and Yusei's duel at the stadium nearby, and so Aki went to see her friends while texting Ichiro throughout.

Aki felt ashamed to admit it but she didn't forget that the following day was Yusei's birthday when she agreed to the date. What probably made it worse was that she didn't actually mind that it was on the same day, and even preferred it like this – it meant that she would still stop by and give Yusei his present but then leave without needing to sit there and watch the guys duel non-stop to an end… And yes, she knew which day it was because she remembered Crow mentioning it offhandedly a couple of months ago.

So here she was, on the day of Yusei's 20th birthday, waiting for Ichiro to show up at the coffee shop for their date and his lateness reaching the 45 minute mark by now.

Although she wasn't at all experienced in these matters Aki began to understand that this wasn't right. _Nobody is late for 45 minutes for the first date, right? _she thought as a terrible realization – which she had been persistently trying to ignore for the past thirty minutes – slowly began surfacing and giving her a reality check: Ichiro wasn't coming. And why? Probably because after the party last night he bragged to his friends about a girl named Aki he was going on a date with, and one of his friends must have told him that she was actually the infamous Black Rose Witch.

It didn't matter if it wasn't what actually happened: Aki didn't exactly have a good track record with people liking her (and especially in more-than-a-friend way) so how could she assume anything other than the worst case scenario?

She began feeling very self aware. She felt like everybody was staring at her now, as if they somehow _knew_ that she was that psychic duellist, that she got stood up, that she was a loser.

Maybe – since she was stupid enough to wear her everyday outfit – Ichiro didn't actually know that she was a Black Rose Witch until he came to see her today, saw from the distance who she really was, and then made a run for it! Because instead of attempting to look different like she did last night she was naive and dressed how most people came to associate her with that wretched psychic persona.

With an empty feeling hallowing in the pit of her stomach, Aki got up and rushed out of the coffee shop, 45 minutes too late to save her dignity. On her D-Wheel she sped angrily towards the ocean harbour where she parked her motorcycle nearby and then leaned on the railing separating the body of water from the boardwalk. There, watching the waves wash up to the shore, she quickly deleted Ichiro Fukamachi's stupid phone number and fought herself from throwing her mobile into the ocean in frustration.

It wasn't fair. It just wasn't fair.

With grief, Aki wondered if she should just go back to Yusei's house where everybody was and just sit there, hoping that today would be the day he'd notice her, _really_ notice her. But would that ease her depression or, in reality, make it much worse?

That was when cigarette smoke reached her nostrils.

Aki wrinkled her nose, brought out of her thoughts (she still deliberated which decision could potentially make her feel less pathetic), and with annoyance glanced over at the source of smoking.

It was a man standing by the railing some distance away from her, thoughtfully looking out towards the horizon.

Aki turned to walk away – not wanting to be bothered and just wishing to be left to herself on some empty spot – when the smoker suddenly spoke to her.

"Sunsets are indescribable in Japan, don't you think? Just under an hour now before it begins…" he mumbled.

Aki wanted to keep walking but deemed it to be a little impolite and thought she could make a small conversation before promptly making her exit.

"I guess," she replied, her eyes trailing off to look at the bridged Satellite Island off on the side, "Although, personally, I haven't been much anywhere else to compare."

"Compared to Sweden sunsets in Japan are exquisite, trust me," the man said and Aki shrugged. This conversation was going nowhere and she just wanted to leave. Was this the time to start making up an excuse?

"Oh, I see this bothers you. I apologize," the man suddenly remarked and Aki glanced at him apologetically only to see that he meant his habit. Before she could protest, the man dropped his cigarette to the ground, put it out with his foot, and then turned to face her for the first time.

Aki was looking at a man of a build similar to that of Jack's (Jack Atlas and his remarkable height were pretty much her bases for estimation for all the tall people), probably marginally shorter, and who seemed to be of unidentifiable age. He could have been anywhere from his late twenties to early thirties. His black hair was tied back in a pony tail and a couple of hair strands partially obscured his forehead. His eyes seemed almost black although Aki thought she saw a hint of dark, almost murky blue in them; there was also a slightly cold, apprehensive quality to them. The man was dressed quite simply in a pair of blue jeans, a white t-shirt, and a sleeveless black vest. There was a hoop earring in one of his ears.

"Hi, my name is Ka-" he suddenly stopped his introduction, had a moment of fleeting hesitation, and then quickly resumed, "_Ki_mura, Mokuba.***** What is yours?" He held out his hand for a greeting.

Aki ogled him with suspicion and then said, "I'm Izayoi, Aki," before reluctantly shaking his hand.

Mokuba Kimura laughed having noticed her mistrust. "In Swedish, "Ki" is pronounced very similarly to "Ka."***** This is my first visit to Japan in twenty years so I'm having a hard time recuperating, you see," he explained, "It's nice to meet you, Izayoi Aki-san. Forgive me for prying but might you be Senator Izayoi Hideo's own daughter?"

Aki disliked it when people recognized her family name especially since that connection usually led to the connection of that name with her infamous psychic alter ego. Regardless, she nodded, hiding her discontent.

"Ah. Well, I could care less about politics. In fact, I usually do my very best to stay away from them," Mokuba said and smiled. At that Aki returned a smile, momentarily fascinated by the locket he wore around his neck. It was shaped like a Duel Monsters card.

"Well, anyway, I've a lot to catch up on so I better get going," Mokuba casually informed, apparently beginning to form a goodbye when suddenly he became distracted by something. "Gotta say...that's a strange motorcycle you've got there, Izayoi Aki-san," his eyes widened, "Wait...is that a _duel disk_ attached to it?"

Aki stared at him with disbelief. "You mean...my D-Wheel?"

"D-Wheel?" Mokuba repeated with curiosity as he neared the bike to take a closer look. His face suddenly brightened. "Oh! So _that's_ what they are!"

Aki was still gaping at this man with a surprised look on her face. Did he actually not know what a D-Wheel is? No doubt he claimed to have been away from Japan for many years but surely things couldn't have changed that much, could they? And didn't other countries have duelling too? "You've never seen a D-Wheel before, Kimura-san?"

"Blueprints of early prototypes only, many years ago," Mokuba answered, his whole attention still fixed on the fascinating method of transportation. "Never the completed product, however. Got to admit, it looks better than I ever thought it would." He laughed a little to himself then, "The whole idea was just so ludicrous when it first came up!"

Aki had no idea what he just said. But unable to help her unexpected interest, she opened her mouth to clarify some of the things (if he really meant that he used to be a part of D-Wheel production team in Sweden, and how he could _possibly_ say that Duel Riding was ridiculous!) but she never got a chance to ask her questions.

Because then something happened.

It was the very first occurrence of its kind and it spiralled the wheels of this destiny in motion. After this event Aki's life – and the rest of the Team 5D's (and even Mokuba's too, to some extent) – would change, never to be the same again.

A man dressed handsomely in a well-off business suit and aged somewhere around mid to late forties, slowly walked up to the Signer and her curiously uninformed converser. He stopped a couple of feet away and for a couple of quick seconds stood there silently, simply observing. There was nothing unusual about this man – he looked like anybody else who worked in a high-rise office building and decided to take a walk by the harbour one fine evening – which was why Aki and Mokuba didn't notice him either approaching or stopping nearby. Or the fact that the harbour was now eerily quiet and empty except for the three of them. They didn't even realize they were being watched until the man abruptly began speaking.

No, _screaming._

"You!" the man shouted, "So it IS you! How DARE you show your face around here after everything you've done?"

Aki and Mokuba were so startled that they almost jumped. Then Aki turned to face the unknown man, instinctually assuming that this was about her (after all, Team 5D's constantly found themselves in unpredictable situations), only to realize that he was addressing _Mokuba_ instead.

"Excuse me?" Mokuba asked, looking perplexed, "Who are you and what is your business with me? I don't believe I've ever seen you before in my life!"

The older man's face distorted into a grimace of pity. "But you _have _seen me before. You were there during the Battle City tournament. You were there when your brother _humiliated_ me. When he dared me to duel him and then destroyed everything I had with a single powerful card. And what for?" the man questioned, throwing his arms up in frustration, "For the sake of amusement and showing off his power! I have never forgotten that humiliation…but no matter, because now-" he pointed at Mokuba, "YOU will pay for your brother's crime!"*****

Aki looked at Mokuba now, silently questioning if what the man was accusing him of now was true. It didn't make his allegation any less ridiculous however.

But Mokuba didn't appear any less confused. "What the hell are you talking about, old man?" he exclaimed, "Battle City? Do you even comprehend just how young I was then? WHY in the world would I remember a petty duellist who lost to my brother almost _thirty years ago_? Are you out of your mind?" And then, to Aki's surprise, he moved to stand in front of her, almost as if trying to protect her if anything were to go wrong.

The man seemed completely indifferent to Mokuba's rebuttal, almost as if he hadn't heard a single word he said. He smiled and displayed the duel disk on his arm. "Duel me, Mokuba. Duel me and prove to me that you're less of a scum than your cheater of a brother."

Mokuba gritted his teeth, legitimately angered now. But instead of disputing this man's insane claims, he said, "I can't duel you, I don't have a card deck. I've never duelled before and I don't plan to start now!"

Once again, Aki was staring at this strange Mokuba with disbelief. It was so ordinary for her to be living in the city of duellists that meeting somebody who didn't play Duel Monsters seemed almost _bizarre_.

The man shook his head. "You can do better than that, Mokuba," he responded, "Unless...you want blood on your hands." He reached under his jacket and fished out a large knife. There was a price tag attached to its handle.

Aki gasped, beginning to feel frightened, but nonetheless she stood her ground. Involuntarily her thoughts leaped to Yusei. She wished he was here now. He would have known exactly what to say and do.

"I said I can't duel you, old man!" Mokuba shouted, his hand sneaking into his pockets for a mobile phone, "I DON'T HAVE DUELING CARDS. What's wrong with you?"

"Wrong choice," the man hissed, but before he had a chance to make a move to do something, Aki came out and stood in front of Mokuba now. She had a determined expression on her face.

"_I_ will duel you, for his sake. What do you say?" she suggested, her voice firm and calm although she was a turmoil of anxiety on the inside. Facing a duellist possessed by evil was one thing, but going against a dangerous man with a lethal weapon was something else all together. "Mokuba-san will stand with me so it will be as if you're duelling him, but with my deck. You want to duel to pay back for your loss? Then let's duel but please put the knife away."

"Izayoi Aki…" Mokuba whispered while gaping at the red haired girl in front of him, his face not concealing his genuine astonishment. "...Thank you."

The man cocked his head to one side, appearing amused. The fact that he seemed entertained by this situation made it creepier. "Alright then," he ultimately agreed, "Let's duel!" His duel disk activated and he snapped the deck of cards into it.

Aki slowly and cautiously moved towards her D-Wheel, not for a moment breaking the eye contact with the enemy, and then lifted the duel disk off the bike and fastened it to her arm. "Duel!" she exclaimed and the disk activated, automatically shuffling her deck. Then she touched her deck of cards, about to declare her turn when...to her greatest horror, her opponent decided to press his knife against his forearm and make a large vertical incision.

Aki couldn't mute a scream, feeling like she was going to be sick. Mokuba paled and stood there with a similarly horrified expression on his face.

The man raised his arms towards the darkening summer sky and murmured, "I offer a sacrifice worthy of a god's glory to possess the divine power of wrath, to withhold the sanctity of retribution, and to offer agony in return for righteous justice. _Out of Order, Chaos to commence_." He then knelt down and pressed his profusely bleeding arm to the ground.

A sudden gush of wind broke out and enclosed the three of them in a transparent and hissing funnel, while the ground beneath them began to shake. Where the man's wrist touched the ground blood red lines began forming a gigantic round glowing seal which stretched up to 40 metres in diameter. The symbols shaped inside the seal were of unknown origin although Aki noticed that at least a few of them seemed to be of Ancient Egyptian origin.

"What…the…fuck…" Mokuba Kimura managed, his mouth agape. It was like he was reading her mind.

"_Now_ we shall duel. Take the first turn, stupid girl," the wounded man said. His eyes, by whatever mysterious side-effect, had turned completely scarlet red after the seal had finished forming.

"What is the meaning of this? What is this image?" Aki shouted at her opponent, regaining her balance after the moderate earthquake. She wondered if anybody else in the city felt it or if it were just those involved in this duel.

"This seal is called _Sutekh Sacrificō_," the man answered, "It requires a blood offering in order to materialize. Nobody will be able to leave the seal until a duel has ended, with one of us losing." He took a look at the cards in his hand and smirked. _Apparently he likes what he sees_, Aki thought. She glanced at her own cards and saw that she wasn't as lucky: she didn't have any immediate means to summon her precious Black Rose Dragon.

"Sutek Sacrifik- what? What does that even mean?" Mokuba mumbled under his breath, to no one in particular.

"But why?" Aki asked the man, "What's the point of all these theatrics?"

"It gives me power, the power to carry out long delayed justice against the brother of that slime," he replied with irritation and gestured at Mokuba, "And now stop bickering me with any more useless questions and _make your move_."

Aki wasn't going to give up until she could squeeze as much information out of him as she could. _He considers this justice? This is revenge_, she thought. "So your so-called _justice_ is more important to you than your own life?" she asked and looked at his seriously damaged arm. He was rapidly bleeding out. The sight of that much blood was making her nauseous.

"When my opponent loses this duel then he or she bleeds for me, and their wounds heal my wounds. But don't you worry – my issue is with Mokuba so when you lose you can go free and he will get sacrificed instead. It's this simple," the man responded impatiently.

Aki felt Mokuba Kimura's glare drill into the back of her head. There wasn't any pressure on her to win this duel at all, nope, not at all…

"And if _I_ win?" Aki pressed.

"You won't," the bleeding man answered in such a hostile and resolute tone of voice that Aki felt a shiver down her spine. She knew that she won't be getting any more information out of him.

Shaken up on the inside but completely calm on the exterior Aki declared her turn as she drew her card. _What have I gotten myself into_, she thought, _Why haven't I just stayed with my friends today?_ It felt like the whole universe was telling her what a mistake she made by trying to be with someone other than Yusei; no, it was practically rubbing it into her face with its sick sense of humour.

[Aki Izayoi]

[**Beginning of Turn One**: 0 Monsters; 0 Cards on Field; 6 Cards in hand; LP4000]

"I summon Ivy Wall in Defence mode," Aki said, placing the card face up on her duel disk. Instantly a large and barren bush appeared on the field, its thorns sharp and pointed at her opponent, ready to defend their owner to the death. Attack points of 300 and superior defence points of 1200 showed up next to it.

"I also place two cards face down and end my turn," Aki concluded and two hidden cards appeared.

[Aki Izayoi]

[**End of Turn One**: Ivy Wall (Lvl.2) ATK300/DEF1200 in Defence Mode; 2 Face down Cards; 3 Cards in hand; LP4000]

She decided play defensively for now. She knew nothing about this man as a duellist and didn't even know what kind of a deck he had or what strategy he'd use. Playing defensive in a situation as such was always a wise decision.

"I honestly think that this is all just nonsense," Mokuba whispered to her while looking over at the cards in her hand, "I think he's pulling a bluff, no matter how convincing."

Aki was about to answer when she caught him gaping at her cards with a knowledgeable expression, and raised her eyebrows. Mokuba noticed her confusion and hurried to explain, "I _know_ how this game works and I've been around duels before, it's just that I haven't personally played them."

Aki nodded her understanding and then commented on his observation. "Do you really think that this only a bluff, Mokuba-san? Do you honestly want to attempt walking out of the seal right now?"

Mokuba turned towards the glowing boundaries of the cursed circle, considered her words, and finally took a step back to the edge of the seal and carefully reached out. His hand touched an impenetrable wall. "Well, I'm convinced now," he remarked nonchalantly and returned to stand by her side. Aki sighed and decided to ignore him for now: she didn't need any distractions – her time was running out and if she was going to win this duel and save this mentally ill man then she had to do it as soon as possible.

"Watashi no turn!" the bleeding man declared and drew his card. He still had a grin playing on his features.

[The Man]

[**Beginning of Turn One**: 0 Monsters; 0 Cards on Field; 6 Cards in hand; LP4000]

"I summon D.D. Assailant in Attack mode," the older duellist said and an android-like monster with a great sword appeared. Its attack was 1700 and defence was 1600. "I also equip a Bing Bang Shot Magic card to my D.D. Assailant – this adds 400 attack points to my monster's original 1700. My monster's attack points rise to 2100! D.D. Assailant, attack her Ivy Wall!" the man exclaimed and pointed his finger at Aki's monster.

Aki stood her ground. Her Ivy Wall was in Defence mode which meant that she was safe from receiving any battle damage.

D.D. Assailant jumped across the field and swung at her Ivy Wall, obliterating it into pieces. Mokuba instinctively shielded his eyes from the bright light and the shards of Solid Vision. Aki remained unbothered, not even batting an eye, until she realized with shock that her Life Points went down from 4000 to 3100.

"But my monster was in Defence mode!" she exclaimed, outraged.

"Due to Bing Bang Shot when my equipped monster attacks a Defence Position monster whose defence is lower than my monster's attack points, this difference is inflicted as battle damage," her opponent explained and let out a short laugh.

"Then I activate my Trap card, Curse of Rose," Aki interrupted and hastily flipped up one of her face down cards. "When my opponent monster's attack changes this inflicts damage to my opponent equal to the difference between that monster's new attack points and original. Thus, you receive 400 damage to your Life Points," she proclaimed and his Life Points decreased to 3600. Nowadays, during every duel she participated in, there was always a fleeting moment in time that Aki felt a stab of worry: what if her powers manifested without her knowledge? What if something in her concentration failed, something fed on her emotions, and she lost any control she previously had? What if she accidentally hurt another (what if it was a _child_), especially since stress and tense nerves used to be big triggers for her?

The man's grin was unchanged when his Life Points decreased, thus signifying to Aki that so far she was doing a good job keeping her powers out of this duel. Her opponent was hurt enough already and she was trying to save him, not wound him further.

"And now," the man resumed as if nothing happened, "I end my turn."

Aki looked down at her hand. "When my Ivy Wall is targeted with attack it summons one ivy token on my opponent's side of the field," she said and a little blue plant with zero attack and defence points appeared next to the man. Her enemy remained looking utterly indifferent.

[The Man]

[**End of Turn One**: D.D. Assailant (Lvl.4) ATK2100 (due to Bing Bang Shot boost)/ DEF1600 in Attack Mode; Ivy Token (Lvl.1) ATK0/DEF0 on the field; 0 Cards on Field; 4 Cards in hand; LP3600]

"Now, my turn!" Aki said and drew a card, taking a quick peek at it. Again, no opportunity for Black Rose Dragon.

[Aki Izayoi]

[**Beginning of Turn Two**: 0 Monsters; 1 Face down Card; 4 Cards in hand; LP3100]

"I summon Phoenixian Seed in Attack mode," Aki said. A big plant seed in a shape of an eye appeared on the field. Its attack was 800 and it had zero defence points. "Phoenixian Seed's effect allows me to send this monster to the Graveyard in order to Special Summon Phoenixian Cluster Amaryllis from my hand," she claimed, and as Phoenixian Seed disintegrated into thin air Phoenixian Cluster Amaryllis took its place in attack mode. This stronger and magnificent monster appeared as a fragile and beautiful flower, and its attack was 2200 and defence was zero. "Now, Phoenixian Cluster Amaryllis attack D.D. Assailant!" she commanded and the monster charged towards the man's, inflicting a deadly strike.

Her opponent's Life Points went down further by 100 points. He was at 3500 now.

"When Phoenixian Cluster Amaryllis attacks in battle it has to be destroyed after damage calculation. However, when Phoenixian Cluster Amaryllis is destroyed, 800 points of direct damage are inflicted on my opponent!" Aki said and sent her monster into the Graveyard, watching as additional Life Points were drained from the man. This currently made him at 2700.

"But that's not all!" Aki went on, feeling empowered and significantly less nervous. _It's going to turn out fine after all_, she thought_, This duel is progressing fast and in my favour_. "I can choose to remove from play one Plant-type monster in my Graveyard in order to Special Summon Phoenixian Cluster Amaryllis back to Defence mode. So I choose to remove my Phoenixian Seed so welcome back, Phoenixian Cluster Amaryllis," she smiled and observed as her monster took its place on her field again, this time in Defence mode and with zero points. "Finally, I place on card face down and end my turn," she concluded, and as a hidden card appeared she glanced back at Mokuba.

Mokuba smiled lightly at her and gave encouraging thumbs up. And as he did that, for whatever bizarre reason, Crow Hogan's image popped into Aki's head. Perhaps it was because this was a gesture reminiscent of her cheerful friend's usual antics.

[Aki Izayoi]

[**End of Turn Two**: Phoenixian Cluster Amaryllis (Lvl.8) ATK2200/DEF0 in Defence Mode; 2 Face down Cards; 1 Card in hand; LP3100]

"My turn," the man declared and drew a card.

[The Man]

[**Beginning of Turn Two**: 0 Monsters on Field; Ivy Token (Lvl.1) ATK0/DEF0 on Field; 0 Cards on Field; 5 Cards in hand; LP2700]

"I summon Kycoo the Ghost Destroyer in Attack mode," he said and a monster in a form of a chanting Buddhist monk appeared. The monster's attack was at 1800 and defence at 700. "Now, Kycoo the Ghost Destroyer, attack her Phoenixian Cluster Amaryllis!"

_What the hell is he doing?_ Aki pondered with bewilderment. The destruction of her monster, as she explained just minutes ago, would inflict 800 points of damage to him. _Is his revenge driven by some underlying masochism? Or is he scheming something?_ It didn't make any sense and she was just going to remove from play her Ivy Wall in order to Special Summon Phoenixian Cluster Amaryllis back.

Kycoo the Ghost Destroyer neared her monster and smashed it apart. The impact of the blow caused Mokuba to cover his eyes again while Aki calmly watched her monster disappear. Yet another 800 Life Points were drained from the enemy (leaving him at 1900).

"Ah, in case you're wondering why I did that," the man suddenly said, almost as if having read her mind, "Kycoo the Ghost Destroyer's special effect allows me to remove from play up to 2 monsters from your Graveyard. And since you only have your Ivy Wall in there then you can't summon back your powerful monster. So-"

"Then I'm activating my Trap card, Cursed Ivy," Aki quickly interrupted and flipped up one of the face down cards on her field, "This card allows me to Special Summon one "Ivy" monster from my Graveyard – so I summon back my Ivy Wall in Defence mode!"

The large barren bush made its appearance on her side of the field again. Now at least she had some defence in case this guy was planning something after all.

"Perfect," the man commented, appearing completely indifferent, "Your Phoenixian Cluster Amaryllis is removed from play. So I will place one face down card and end my turn."

[The Man]

[**End of Turn Two**: Kycoo the Ghost Destroyer (Lvl.4) ATK1800/DEF700 in Attack Mode; 1 Face down Card; 3 Cards in hand; LP1900]

"Watashi no turn," Aki declared, drawing a card.

[Aki Izayoi]

[**Beginning of Turn Three**: Ivy Wall (Lvl.2) ATK300/DEF1200 in Defence Mode; 1 Card on Field; 2 Cards in hand; LP3100]

Aki's amber-brown eyes lit up when she saw that there was now a chance for her beloved Black Rose Dragon. She knew that she'd definitely be able to win this duel – and do it very soon too – but she still needed to draw a few more cards to make Synchro Summon possible.

"I play a Magic card Fragrance Storm!" Aki proclaimed, "It allows me to destroy one face-up Plant monster on the field and then draw one card from my deck. I choose the Ivy Token on your side of the field." She gestured at the Token and watched it disappear, "Also, when an Ivy Token is destroyed while it's on my opponent's side of the field, 300 points of damage are inflicted."

The man was borderline unresponsive when even more Life Points were drained from him. He was at 1600 now. He continued smiling that light inexplicable smirk. And Aki didn't fail to notice that he had become much, much paler and more slouched since the duel started. There was a small puddle of blood beginning to form under his feet. What was perhaps most disturbing was the fact that he didn't seem to be even aware of his injuries.

Aki had to go on so she drew a card and saw that luck gave her Twilight Rose Knight. She revealed that monster to her opponent. "If the card I drew due to Fragrance Storm is Plant-type, then by revealing it to you I can draw yet another card from my deck. So I draw again!" she said and picked up yet another card. Taking a quick glance at it she saw that it was perfect.

"I play my Tuner monster, Twilight Rose Knight!" Aki exclaimed and a small knight with a white cape appeared, his attack and defence points both at 1000. "Twilight Rose Knight's effect allows me to Special Summon one Level 4 or lower Plant-type monster from my hand – and I choose my Lord Poison!" A worm-like monster with thorns protruding from its skin appeared, its attack at 1500 and defence at 1000 points. "And now, I tune my level three Twilight Rose Knight to my level four Lord Poison in order to Synchro Summon _this_," she revealed a silver card in her hand, "My Black Rose Dragon!"

"…Synchro…Summon?" Mokuba slowly uttered. Even if he didn't know what this was (somehow), Aki wasn't going to waste precious time explaining it to him.

"Chilling flames engulf the entire world. Pitch-dark flower, set into bloom," she began chanting, "Synchro Su-"

"-Don't be so quick!" the man intervened and activated a face down card, "This continuous Trap card, Discord, prevents either of us from Synchro Summoning for three whole turns. Say bye-bye to your Black Rose Dragon."

Aki, disappointed and aggravated, placed her Black Rose Dragon back into her hand. So long for quick victory. "Then…I end my turn," she concluded and suddenly became aware of the soft vibration in her hair – it was the hair-curler device holding her bangs and which Divine gave her to help inhibit her powers a little. Aki began feeling uneasy and swallowed in a dry throat: this meant that frustration could still aid her lack of control and, if this should persist, then the horrible thing could happen. _Am I not as capable of controlling my psychic power as I thought I was_? Aki thought with alarm.

"You know what I noticed, Aki-san?" Mokuba whispered to her, breaking her spiralling train of thoughts. She actually welcomed his distraction this time. "I noticed that this duel isn't any more extraordinary than any normal duel," he said, "He doesn't seem to have very powerful monsters or Traps or Magics. The closest this duel came to extraordinary was when he blocked you with Discord…and obviously when he cut open his arm and summoned this strange force field. But other than these, do you get what I mean?"

Aki didn't utter a word but nodded her agreement. She thought that Mokuba Kimura was absolutely correct after all: it seemed to her now that this man's talk about some godly power, all these fancy theatrics and chanting to entrap them in some barrier, _all of this_ was just to intimidate. In reality, the only thing this man was doing was committing a slow suicide. Sure his chosen method was unusual and quite sick but it only reaffirmed to her that he was ill and needed help. She was going to concern herself with the physics of this strange Egyptian-like magical field later.

[Aki Izayoi]

[**End of Turn Three**: Ivy Wall (Lvl.2) ATK300/DEF1200 in Defence Mode; Twilight Rose Knight (Lvl.3) ATK1000/DEF1000 in Defence Mode; Lord Poison (Lvl.4) ATK1500/DEF1000 in Defence Mode; 1 Face down Card; 1 Card in hand; LP3100]

"My turn," the man announced.

[The Man]

[**Beginning of Turn Three**: Kycoo the Ghost Destroyer (Lvl.4) ATK1800/DEF700 in Attack Mode; 0 Face down Cards; 4 Cards in hand; LP1600]

"First, I play a Magic card, Dimensional Fissure," he activated the green card on the duel disk, "This card's effect makes it so that any monster sent to the Graveyard is removed from play instead – no more pulling monsters from the Graveyard for you. Then, I play this," he showed her a card, "Lighting Vortex! By removing from play one card from my deck all monsters on your side of the field are destroyed!"

"What?" Aki gasped. Her Twilight Rose Knight, Lord Poison and Ivy Wall disintegrated into thin air and she couldn't be able to bring them back. Trying to fight off despair, she activated her only hidden card. "Trap card open: Rose Flame! Each time a Plant-type monster is summoned to my opponent's side of the field, 500 points of damage are inflicted. Remember - when my Ivy Wall is destroyed an Ivy Token appears on your side of the field. So you receive damage!"

"Grasping at the last straws I see," the man commented with amusement, again unbothered by his rapidly decreasing Life Points which were at 1100 now. He didn't even pay attention when another tiny blue plant with zero attack and defence points showed up next to him. "You now have no monsters to defend you and no cards on the field to deflect the attacks. This is over," he played the second to last card in his hand, "I summon Bazoo the Soul-Eater in Attack mode." A monster in a shape of a large baboon appeared with 1600 attack and 900 defence points. "And now," the man's grin grew wide, now bordering on lunacy, "I tribute Bazoo the Soul-Eater and Kycoo the Ghost Destroyer in order to summon the power of darkness – La Magra*** **come forth!" He slammed his last card on the duel disk.

The ground beneath them began shaking once again and Aki and Mokuba fought hard to keep on their feet. An enormous dark shadow started to seep out of the Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs, and like mercury collected on the man's side of the field, blocking out the dim evening sky. It was constantly in motion, alternating between three physical forms of gas, solid and liquid; at one moment it was a pitch black fog, and then the other moment it'd appear as a vague human shape before smoothly breaking down into a poisonous red waterfall. Stats revealing an equal attack and defence of 3000 points appeared next to the monster.

Aki's eyes became as large as saucers. Something in the back of her head was telling her that arrival of this La Magra was a big deal: _this_ was the power the man had been bragging about and _this _was the real effect of _Sutekh Sacrificō_. It had all been building up to summon this monster – perhaps the whole point of the seal and the sacrifice was to create the conditions for feeding it. _What do I do, what do I do?_ thoughts scattered in her head. A direct attack at her Life Points was coming.

"…I think that _now _we're screwed," Mokuba muttered while staring at La Magra with a dumbfounded expression on his face.

_We_? Aki reluctantly thought, _It's only "we" because you depend on me winning this duel. _

"Now, La Magra! Attack her Life Points directly!" her opponent screamed and broke into laughter as the colossal shadow soaked into the ground and then reappeared in front of Aki. Aki looked up at it, unable to help herself feeling frightened, and somehow muted a shriek when La Magra suddenly consumed her.

And then there was nothing.

Aki couldn't see anything through the densest, most impenetrable darkness. There stood the deepest silence. She found that she was completely conscious, and that she could move her limbs however she was unable to see herself. "Where am I?" Aki wondered aloud but she couldn't hear a word. It was as if she was suddenly rendered deaf and blind. A sickening hollow feeling of hopelessness began sinking inside her. Tendrils of claustrophobia ripped into her and she felt as if invisible walls were beginning to close in and she was about to be crushed. _I'm trapped_! she agonized, _That thing took me somewhere and now I can't get out. There is no way out! _She would've screamed if she could. This was only a nightmare, it just had to be, right? Fighting against overpowering panic, she fixed a single tangible image in her mind; it was as clear as day and if there was no light in the darkness then she could always think of it and it would come, it could purge all shadows and create a reality of its own.

It was an image of all her friends as they were in Team 5D's: Rua, Ruka, Bruno, Jack, Crow, and Yusei. They were all smiling at her. They all believed in her. This was a vision so potent it was almost supernatural, almost magic.

And then the sensation started.

It started at her fingertips and then moved out further until it covered her whole body. It felt like light prickling, not pain exactly but discomforting in its own way. And then the opposite sensation occurred: the prickling suddenly centralized somewhere deep inside her and then rapidly spread out. And it didn't stop. It felt like all warmth was leaving her body, and with warmth all the somatosensory sensations began escaping as well. _I'm...something is draining me..._ a thought flashed in Aki's head as numbness drowned her. The image of her friends started deteriorating; it was almost as if water ate through the paint – they melted, and melted away until there was nothing left of them. And Aki distantly thought – less and less coherently – how she…didn't actually mind this anymore. There was something comforting, almost good, in nothingness after all. No pain, no fear, no worries, no...friends... No consciousness, no feeling, utter oblivion.

"_This is the best way to learn to balance yourself_..." suddenly a voice floated out.

Aki groggily opened her eyes or at least she thought she did. _Who is that...?_ she wondered.

"_Could this be...your first time skating?_" the voice asked. It was low, soothing, and bittersweetly familiar.

"_I don't really come to places like this_," Aki heard her own voice echo an answer. But it wasn't shocking or strange to hear this anymore. Aki felt butterflies in the pit of her stomach and a smile touched her lips. It was a memory, one of the loveliest she held. How could she possibly forget? How could she not recall every small detail, every word, every touch...how could she not remember _him_?

The memory came to life before her eyes then. She saw it now, almost like she was a bystander watching from the sidelines.

Yusei Fudo swiftly skated backwards, his cobalt blue eyes not leaving hers for a second, and then turned, and glided right back to her. He made it look so easy. He was so relaxed and yet so confident.

_Is there anything he can't do?_ she admired him before realizing that it was her turn now. Trying not to blush furiously and hopefully impress him with her mad natural skills, Aki moved her feet…and the ground seemed to jump right from underneath her. Realizing she was about to fall flat on her face, she threw out her arms to grab onto something…and that something turned out to be Yusei. He caught her and steadied her, his hands firmly holding her arms, and Aki thought she was about to die from embarrassment or from happiness. He softly asked her if this was the first time she skated and she shyly replied that going to places as such wasn't her forte. And he didn't seem disappointed or annoyed or anything like that; instead, he held her hands in his own (_Dying_. _From happiness. Now_) and began skating with her, patiently helping her find her centre of gravity, and catching her whenever she tripped.

Reflecting upon that day later (an infinite number of times, over and over again), Aki thought that what really stuck with her was that _he_ seemed to be having fun too. He smiled so much then. Once or twice he even _laughed_ (Yusei…actually laughs?) when she joked to save her face or when she lost her balance particularly clumsily; but never at her, always _with_ her. It seemed to her that for whatever reason he looked…happy. Probably the happiest she'd ever seen him.

Aki blinked and saw heavy clouds move along the bruised skin of the sky. She noticed that if she looked carefully enough she was able to see the tiny diamonds of the stars.

"Iz…oi Aki-s..n?"

She wished she could see them better: those magnificent lights the beauty of which was unrivalled. Abruptly her thoughts trailed off to Yusei again, however it was no longer the sweet memory of his lesson. Instead, Aki wondered what he was doing right at this second. And, with stabbing pain in her heart as harsh reality suddenly dawned on her, she wondered if he was with another woman.

"Izayoi Aki-san? Are you alright?"

Aki frowned, hearing that foreign voice calling out to her so clearly now. And then, blinking once, then twice, she realized that she was staring at the gloomy evening sky. She was lying on her back, she was still in a duel, and Mokuba Kimura was kneeling next to her. She saw worry plastered on his face.

"What…happened?" Aki mumbled, slowly sitting up. Her head was spinning.

"You disappeared in that _thing_," Mokuba nodded towards La Magra's shadow on her opponent's side of the field, "And then it released you and you fell down."

_Could this have been a psychic attack_? Aki pondered as she got to her feet but not without Mokuba's help because she was having some difficulty keeping her balance. _Did that La Magra somehow materialize_? "Kimura-san…how long did it last?" she asked, hearing her voice sounding feeble.

"What did?" he asked.

"How long was I…in it?" Aki clarified.

"A couple of seconds, tops," Mokuba estimated.

_A couple of seconds_, Aki thought, _It felt like hours. It felt like it was never going to release me. _She drew in a breath and let out a deep sigh, closing her eyes. She was feeling so exhausted…it was almost as if La Magra's attack somehow sucked all the energy out of her. Or maybe that's exactly what happened; maybe it fed on her life force until the only thing left was the most profound hopelessness.

Aki's Life Points went down from her high 3100 to measly 100 points in one turn.

"I did say you wouldn't win, didn't I?" the sacrificial duellist asked with a low snicker. By then his skin took on a worrisome ashen complexion but, as always, he didn't seem to notice or to care.

Aki forced her eyes open, barely able to think about anything other than sleep. Right now. For weeks, if she could.

"I end my turn," the man said, "And now you can amuse me with your last turn. Let's hope you'd at least be able to put a monster in Defence mode!"

[The Man]

[**End of Turn Three**: La Magra (Lvl.9) ATK3000/DEF3000 in Attack Mode; Ivy Token (Lvl.1) ATK0/DEF0 on Field; 0 Face down Cards; 0 Cards in hand; LP1100]

Aki glanced down at the single card she was holding and slowly it began occurring to her just how dire this situation was.

Her only card was a Magic that couldn't protect her or buy her a turn. And even if she managed to draw a Tuner monster on her next turn, it wouldn't do her any good – she would need at least another monster, in addition to the Level 1 Ivy Token on the man's side of the field, to summon her ace monster. In addition to that she couldn't actually Synchro Summon for two more turns.

Aki chewed on her bottom lip. What now? Her best bet was to draw a Trap card like Ground Capture which would allow her to halve the damage from La Magra, so she could wait these turns out. But what were the chances that her opponent wouldn't summon another monster and then attack her directly with that one?

Familiar waves of panic began pumping adrenaline through her system and temporarily restored some of her lost energy. Wide-awake now, Aki worriedly looked from her card to her deck. She didn't know what to do.

"Izayoi Aki-san…" Mokuba whispered while looking over at the useless Magic card in her hand. Aki met his gaze and a mutual understanding passed between them – her and a stranger for whose life she was responsible. It was an understanding that this duel might be over.

"Kimura-san," Aki spoke up quietly, "Please, if you could do me a big favour right now: if you've got your phone on you, then I need you to call somebody. Immediately."

Mokuba shook his head, "I've tried already," he despaired, "I tried sending a message but it didn't go through. No reception. It looks like he put us in some sort of insulated vacuum."

Aki took in a shuddering breath. If any of her friends were here…then they would have supported her, empowered her. She would have somehow found a way to win. And maybe just hearing Yusei's voice would have been enough.

She looked down at her forearm where the mark of the Crimson Dragon was imprinted. She desperately wished for it to glow so that her friends could find out where she was. But for some reason it wasn't activating.

Gathering the remains of courage, Aki placed her hand on the deck of cards and closed her eyes. Maybe…if she believed enough…maybe a miracle would happen. The pin in her hair had completely stopped vibrating after La Magra's attack – probably because her energy had been sucked out, she was too weak to even imagine using her powers.

This was it.

"My turn," she declared quietly and, keeping her eyes tightly shut, drew the fateful card.

[Aki Izayoi]

[**Beginning of Turn Four**: 0 Monsters on Field; 0 Face down Cards; 2 Cards in hand; LP100)

Aki's amber eyes hesitantly flickered open and she peaked at the new card.

It was a Trap called Doom Petal Countdown. Aki's heart sank so low she almost collapsed along with it. It was useless. She needed a monster to defend herself so _how_ could a card that required her to have monsters in the Graveyard help her in any way? After all this time her deck had finally let her down.

And then it suddenly clicked in her head. The wheels started turning and her eyes widened.

She knew exactly what to do.

"I place a card face down and end my turn," she said, setting the newly drawn Doom Petal Countdown.

[Aki Izayoi]

[**End of Turn Four**: 0 Monsters on Field; 1 Face down Card; 1 Card in hand; LP100)

The dying man laughed out loud."I see you were unlucky enough to not even draw a monster!" he exclaimed, "And seeing how your Trap cards have been up until now, there is no threat with this one. Get ready to be cut up, Mokuba!"

Aki's expression didn't change while Mokuba gritted his teeth.

"But oh yes, for the sake of formalities I have to do it properly. So – my turn!"

[The Man]

[**Beginning of Turn Four**: La Magra (Lvl.9) ATK3000/DEF3000 in Attack Mode; 0 Face down Cards; 1 Card in hand; LP1100]

The man glanced at his new card and burst out in yet another laugh. Aki's pulse was racing: she didn't know if he'll attack her directly or if he'll try to disable her Trap first.

"I'm going out with a bang, it seems!" the man howled, "Let me show you what else La Magra can do before your friend becomes a corpse. I activate an Equipment Magic card, Drain Leach!" He slammed the card on his bloodstained duel disk. "Drain Leach* allows for all the Life Points I lost during the duration of this duel to be added to La Magra's attack until the End Phase. Since you were generous enough to deduct 2900 Life Points from me, La Magra grows stronger by that amount!"

It sounded like the overwhelming dark fog sighed, and then it nearly doubled in its already colossal size as its attack went up to 5900.

"God…damn…" Mokuba whispered.

Aki was still expressionless, successfully hiding her anxiety.

"Gotta say, you've put up a pretty fun game, little girl," the man chuckled, "But there was absolutely nothing you could do to prevent this. Alas, say goodbye to Mokuba. But if it's any consolation he's _slime _and you won't miss him when he's gone."

Mokuba clenched his fists. "Bastard…"

The man ignored him and gestured the enormous form of La Magra at Aki. "La Magra, attack her Life Points directly!"

La Magra let out another menacing hiss and began seeping into the ground to perform its attack when Aki flipped up the only hidden card on her field. "Trap card open – Doom Petal Countdown!" she shouted, "This card allows me to remove from play one Plant-Type monster in my Graveyard in order to inflict 300 points of damage."

The man shrugged, looking unimpressed.

"_However_," Aki went on, "If there are no Plant-Type monsters in my Graveyard then Doom Petal Countdown inflicts 300 points of damage for _each_ Plant monster that's been removed from play."

"…What?" the man gasped, taken aback. La Magra remained in its spot, still making inexplicable sighing noises.

"I have no monsters in my Graveyard, thanks to you, but I have plenty of monsters that were removed from play!" Aki exclaimed, "Phoenixian Seed, Phoenixian Cluster Amaryllis, Twilight Rose Knight, Lord Poison and Ivy Wall. That's five monsters, 300 points of damage each – 1500 points of direct damage."

At that the man let out a distressed scream and clutched his head. "Can't be, can't be!" he shrieked.

Aki turned and looked at Mokuba who appeared as stunned as he was relieved. "It is done," she said quietly and he nodded.

The man continued screaming as 1500 points were depleted from his 1100. When his Life Points reached zero, La Magra hissed loudly and then vanished along with the _Sutekh Sacrificō_ seal.

[**Winner**: Aki Izayoi]

The man collapsed.

Aki and Mokuba rushed to his side and with shock saw a man whose eyes – previously shaded with red – were crystalline and filled with tears. His skin was gray. His whole body was shaking so bad it was almost to the point of seizure and he was lying in a small pool of his blood.

"H-h-h-help me, p-p-please… P-p-please… Call m-m-my wife…" the man was begging them almost inaudibly.

Aki covered her mouth in horror. She saw that it was no longer a cruel irrational man she had just duelled – it was a poor injured person somehow driven by a nonsensical revenge motive and possessed by something unspeakably evil.

Mokuba immediately got out his phone and dialled a short number.

In under a minute at least ten black cars with tinted windows appeared. Some men in suits exited them and approached Mokuba who quickly began giving explanations as well as orders.

Aki didn't pay notice of them and couldn't look at or hear anything other than the dying man's sobs. She knelt and gently gathered the man's freezing hands into her own, her lips quivering as she fought back her tears. "What is your name?" she asked.

The man swallowed with difficulty and replied: "S-Suzuki, m-m-my name is Suzuki…Tetsuo…"

"And I'm Izayoi, Aki," she whispered in response, tears blurring her eyesight, "…You…you will be alright, Suzuki-sama, you will be alright…" _I couldn't save you…I couldn't save you! I'm sorry, I'm so sorry!_

Tetsuo Suzuki cracked a weak smile. "It is nice to meet you, Ak-k-ki-chan."

"Aki-san, get up! We're taking him to the hospital!" Mokuba instructed and with ease pulled Aki away from the dying man. His bodyguards then carefully picked up Tetsuo Suzuki and put him into one of the cars, and then drove off with a screech. Aki, borderline paralyzed from shock, couldn't even begin comprehending who these mysterious men in suits were or why they were doing what Mokuba told them.

Mokuba then pushed Aki into the backseat of another car and sat next to her, ordering the driver to hurry and follow the first car to the hospital.

"My first day in Japan in almost twenty years. Who could've thought that something like this would happen?" Mokuba mumbled to himself while gazing through the tinted glass at the rapidly flashing streets, "This city will never seize to have problems, I suppose. There will always be something happening here."

Not a single word of what he said registered with Aki. Instead, she borrowed Mokuba's cell phone and with violently shaking hands managed to dial a number she knew by heart.

Her call was only answered after she incessantly called back a second time.

"Who is this?" asked a deep smooth voice. Sometimes the sound of that voice could practically trigger an orgasm in her. But not today.

"I need your help… something really awful has happened. I'm going to be at Seiroka Byoin ER. Please hurry," she pleaded.

"I'm on my way, Aki," Yusei said and hung up.

Aki dazedly returned the phone to Mokuba and her stare dropped to her hands stained with Tetsuo Suzuki's blood. Then tears clouded her vision and she could no longer see anything.

* * *

_**Footnotes:**_

***1** - Holy crap, it's Mokuba Kaiba! HE'S ALIVE! …and old...ish.

***2 **- Lol, so not true!...not that I would really know...but I can't believe Aki buys it!

***3 – **This is a reference to episode 60 of original Yu-Gi-Oh. Pretty much there was a scene where Mokuba Kaiba encounters a bully who was breaking the tournament rules. When the bully tries to intimidate him, Seto Kaiba shows up and kicks the bully's ass with Obelisk the Tormentor, his Egyptian God Card. I'm intending the mysterious guy who's challenging Mokuba/Aki in this chapter to be that bully from the past.

***4 **– I made up this card and took the name of **La Magra** from the movie "_Blade"_ (1998). My taking of this name has a point – in the film, La Magra was a "Blood God". It sort of fits into this story.

***5** - This card is also made up.


	6. Chapter 5: The day's end

_Author's Note:_

_So here is Chapter 5 of "The Kingdom [be]Comes." This chapter turned out quite long too, unfortunately, even though I was certain that this one would be one of the shortest. It just seems like whenever I start writing I just cannot stop. _

_Okay, so in this Chapter we see more Aki and Yusei and more of their interactions versus just their stories and feelings. It was funner to write too!_

_So I hope you enjoy this chapter and please review!_

_Thank you for reading,_

_**NineInchNailed.**_

_**

* * *

**_

_**"You have to learn the rules of the game. And then you have to play better than anyone else."**_

_~Albert Einstein._

_

* * *

_

Yusei stumbled into his bathroom, throwing his bloodied jacket into the bathtub and taking a look at his left arm in the mirror. The reflection revealed a ghastly image: on his bicep, beneath the copious amount of drying blood, was a carved-in figure of the twisted double-mouthed dragon. The dragon's colossal spiked tail was wrapping round and round his upper arm like a barbed wire armband tattoo. The end of the dragon's tail ended up on the face-up of his arm, near his elbow, pointing down like an arrow towards his wrist. This was beyond bizarre and Yusei had no idea what had just happened.

"The Sky Dragon of Osiris, just what in the world are you?" Yusei mumbled as he stared down at the blood stained God card in his hand. He carefully wiped the blood off the card, put it aside, and then proceeded to wash the fresh wound with a warm towel, cringing from discomfort. For a hundredth time since this incident had happened Yusei breathed with relief that he lived by himself now and so he would be able to figure this out by himself without involving anybody.

Once the last trace of blood was washed off him, he looked at the mirror at the finished result, shaking his head: he had no idea how long it would take for this carving to heal but looking at how it slowly began bleeding out again he knew that it would take a very long time. It would probably leave a nasty scar, too. As if having a Crimson Dragon Signer birthmark on his right arm wasn't enough, he now had yet another dragon mark on his other arm!

Involuntarily, Yusei wondered if any of the other Signers had gotten the strange mark of the Sky Dragon as well. Then this wouldn't be some disturbing and out of place thing caused by this unknown card but, rather, it would be something unifying and something that all of them would be able to figure out.

Still, he didn't want to risk any of his friends seeing this mark in case it had happened to him only. In this case, he would deal with it by himself.

Yusei was done bandaging his arm when, unexpectedly, his cell phone rang in the next room. He quickly looked at his watch, seeing that it was 9:20pm. It was still his 20th birthday. He didn't know anybody that would be calling him at this hour. Nonetheless, in case it was an emergency, he hurried to the kitchen to pick up the phone and saw that it was an "Unknown Number" calling. The split second of hesitation caused him to miss the call but just before he was about to leave the kitchen, the "Unknown Number" called once again. This time, he picked up immediately.

"Who is this?" he asked and when the person on the other line spoke he didn't need more than a second to recognize that it was Aki Izayoi's voice. Aki told him that something horrible had happened and that he needs to come to the hospital immediately and his heart yanked painfully in his chest. Besides her words, even her voice sounded like she was dying or something of the sort. She didn't have to ask him twice.

"I'm on my way," he replied, hang up the phone and quickly ran back to the bathroom to pick up his jacket. He realized, then, that he would have to wear something else if he did not want to summon any unnecessary attention and, as he was about to run out, his eyes caught the sight of the God card lying on the side of the sink. It was too dangerous to leave it, Yusei knew, and so he reluctantly added it to the only place he knew would be the absolute safest – his deck. He then threw on a black leather jacket and hurried down to the garage where his D-Wheel was. He mounted it and was out of his house and on the highway in a matter of seconds.

Seiroka Byoin ER was about five kilometres away and Yusei got there at 9:45 in the evening. He parked in a hurry and rushed into the hospital. He found Aki on the third floor waiting room. She wasn't by herself.

Aki sat on the chair with her elbows propped on her knees, holding her head. She was trying hard not to think about the man in the emergency room across from her, the man who she might not have been able to save in time. Beside her, Kimura Mokuba sat while holding her cup of unfinished sweet coffee and going on and on about his time in Sweden and all the nostalgia that he experienced ever since returning to Japan. Aki wasn't even listening anymore although she very much appreciated that he was waiting here with her. Being here by herself would have been the most unbearable torture.

"Aki..." she heard a familiar voice and quickly span to look at Yusei standing over her. The two of them just stared at each other, not saying anything, for at least fifteen seconds, until Mokuba cleared his throat and stood up.

"I'm Kimura, Mokuba. You are Yusei-kun, I take?" he introduced himself, and Yusei broke his stare from Aki and nodded to the stranger. He noticed that this Mokuba was staring at him a bit too intently but he didn't really care right now: he assumed that he was staring at the jagged criminal marker on his face, anyway, and he had learnt to ignore these kinds of stares from people a long time ago.

"Aki, what happened?" Yusei asked, concerned, kneeling beside her so their eyes were on the same level and disregarding Mokuba for now.

Aki drew in a deep breath and told him everything that happened (aside from her failed blind date, of course), from the time she met Mokuba, to when the strange man showed up pledging to avenge a petty incident from countless years ago, to how she challenged the man instead, to how the man had wounded himself and created a gigantic seal which trapped them inside, to how the strange man had summoned one of the most powerful and bizarre monsters she had ever seen in her life, how that monster had suddenly acquired psychic abilities and sucked all the energy out of her, and how she had barely won and was unable to finish the duel fast enough.

Frowning, Yusei got up to his feet and tried to process what he had just heard.

_You're here...you came..._ Aki thought, and sighed, taking the cup of unfinished coffee from Mokuba and downing the rest of it. She needed the sugar and caffeine to remain awake because the adrenaline rush from the duel was quickly wearing off and her worry for the poor man in the emergency surgery drained her even more.

_Does this have anything to do with Sky Dragon of Osiris_? Yusei was thinking, trying to piece things together. _Or could this have something to do with me turning 20? Or maybe this has nothing to do with the card or my birthday but, rather, with your strange duel, Aki_, Yusei thought as he watched her sipping at her coffee, _But the time does not add up, your duel started hours after I turned 20 and hours before I opened the card_. _But… you're alright and safe and that's the most important thing_, he concluded and sighed, looking away. So far he had nothing.

"Hey, I'm sorry for intruding...but you seem very familiar," suddenly said the guy Aki was with and Yusei actually had to put some effort into remembering the guy's name. Ah, yes, Kimura Mokuba. Yusei wasn't getting very good vibes from him.

"Nani?" Yusei asked, frowning. He _knew_ that he had never seen Mokuba before in his life, his own memory of people was impeccable.

"Yeah...you look very similar to somebody I used to know...would you by any chance be related to the Mutou kin?" Mokuba resumed, not giving up, but Yusei just shook his head. He tried to suppress his hostile feelings for somebody prying into his personal life, especially his ancestry – it's not like he, himself, even knew anything about it: he had only known his parents and his father's name, Fudo. What he did know, however, was that this name _Mutou_ had never previously been recalled to him in any occasion. Thus, this was insignificant.

"Why don't you answer me this, Kimura-san," Yusei said instead, "How is it that a man withholding a grudge for years against your _brother_, comes and conveniently finds _you_ in this colossal city and considering, especially, that, according to Aki here, you have been away from Japan for nearly 20 years?"

Yusei noticed momentary anger register on Mokuba's face but this man looked like he has had a lot of practice at concealing it.

"I wouldn't know, of course. The guy came out of nowhere. Besides, I don't see _convenience_ anywhere in this – this guy threatened to kill me over a game of duel cards! It maybe hard for you, Japanese teenagers, to grasp this but this game is not necessarily a universal phenomenon. I don't even have a duelling deck and I had never, not once in my life, even possessed one. Perhaps this guy has got some kind of tracker on me," Mokuba answered in a calm manner but Yusei still detected notes of frustration. Although Yusei had difficulty visualizing a world without Duel Monsters he knew that this idea wasn't so out there and definitely in the realm of possibility. After all, why shouldn't it be? Nonetheless, Mokuba's defensive manner irked him. He suspected that this guy, while honest, wasn't telling the whole truth.

Aki was watching the interaction unfolding in front of her with some fascination. It wasn't very typical of Yusei to be unfriendly to a stranger. It was like Yusei, however, to be this direct and to try cutting through layers of bullshit and Aki definitely appreciated this because there was certainly something odd about events surrounding Mokuba. Unlike Yusei, it seemed, Aki believed what Mokuba was saying: she was there with him for the duel and she witnessed his genuine reactions of shock and confusion.

"Then so be it," Yusei said in response to Mokuba's rant. He didn't really consider this guy to be a significant piece of the puzzle and so essentially he could disregard everything Mokuba had just said if he wanted to although he was never really this careless. Nonetheless, Aki had saved this guy's life and this guy had better been more grateful to her than he had ever been to anyone in his whole life.

It was then that Aki gasped, clasping her hands over her mouth, because the "Surgery" sign of the room in front of them turned off. Silence fell over the three of them until a doctor came out of the surgery room with a grave expression on his face.

"I am regretful to inform you but all of our attempts to stabilize Tetsuo Suzuki were in vain. His artery was severed which caused extreme blood loss over a long period of time. He had passed away at 10:07pm from exsanguination. I'm so sorry for your loss. His family has been informed and they are on their way now," the doctor said and handed them the man's belongings which included his blood stained duel disk and deck.

Aki let out a loud of sob and broke into uncontrollable tears. _I couldn't save him, I couldn't save him, I wasn't fast enough! _she was repeating in her head over and over again.

"Aki…" Yusei whispered as he stood there, not knowing what to do or how to console her. Giving her a hug right now might have been the best choice but he deemed it inappropriate, for both of their sake.

To his irritation, this Mokuba sat down next to Aki and placed his hand on her shoulder, saying "There, there, Aki-san, you did the best you could. He was beyond help. Don't blame yourself," as if he had known Aki all his life and as if this wasn't the first day that he's met her.

Aki, still crying, just shook her head to Mokuba's words, unable to articulate. _No, I could have saved him and I didn't! I could have! If only I was fast enough!_

Yusei looked away from the scene and, instead, decided to go through the dead man's deck in search of that card, La Magra, as well as the Magic card which equips to it. He flipped through the deck two times, once quickly and the second time slowly and thorough, and he wasn't able to find any suspicious cards. He wasn't even able to find "Discord" which was a trap card that Aki said prevented her from Synchro Summoning, a card that wasn't _that_ atypical. So the three most overpowered cards in the man's deck were conveniently missing, yeah, basically not suspicious at all.

"They're not here, Aki, the three cards combo that you said almost made you lose. Could somebody have taken them?" Yusei asked, directing attention onto business, and only when Aki got up to take a look at the deck herself that Yusei realized that he might have come off as kind of harsh and indifferent to her grief.

"No, they _were_ here, he _did_ summon them, and when he lost nobody could have stolen them. Is it possible for them to have disappeared into thin air?" Aki asked while zealously going through the man's deck, back and forth, and wiping away at her tears every once in awhile.

"Anything is possible," Yusei replied and Aki nodded, knowing that he was right. The Signers' battle with the Dark Signers and god-like Godwin, the fight with the Ylliaster, _after all of this_, why wouldn't the most of improbable be possible?

Mokuba didn't say anything, apparently not disagreeing with their observation. Actually, he decided to address Aki and ask if she would like a ride home now.

Noticing that Aki was about to agree to Mokuba's offer, instead of simply arguing with the guy, Yusei settled on a different approach.

"Actually, Aki, I would like to talk to you about something so I think it would be better if _I_ take you home," Yusei insisted.

Aki looked from one to the other. Ordinarily, she would have agreed to go with Yusei in a heartbeat but today wasn't an ordinary day. She no longer wished to be dependent on him, to hold on to his every word. It was enough of that after two long years. But if he did have something to talk to her about then it was definitely more detrimental to go with him. And, besides, Mokuba was still a stranger and it would be improper to burden him with taking her home.

"I'll go with Yusei but thank you for offering, Mokuba-san. Do take care of yourself. It was very nice to meet you and do enjoy your stay in Japan – hopefully it's not as eventful as today," Aki said, forcing a small smile at him, and bowing her head goodbye. She felt strangely indifferent to this goodbye. She didn't know if it was because she didn't really care for him or if it was her lack of energy after La Magra's attack. Or perhaps it was a mixture of both.

Mokuba returned a smile, bowing his head in return, and Yusei and Aki departed, leaving Mokuba to wait for Tetsuo Suzuki's family to arrive and to pass on the man's things.

Yusei and Aki exited the hospital and followed to the parking lot where Yusei's D-Wheel was parked, not a word uttered between them. It was then when Aki was about to get on his motorcycle that she gasped in sudden realization and exclaimed, "My D-Wheel!"

"What about it?" Yusei asked as he put on his helmet.

"I left it where I had the duel! I forgot about it completely!" Aki said, feeling even more so devastated. She didn't know how she would be able to cope if her D-Wheel went missing, she held it so dear to her heart - Yusei, after all, had built it. And even though she had originally tried duel racing in order to understand Yusei better and to relate to him greater, this type of duelling had long transcended into the realm of individual and fond necessity for her: racing duels for her were now absolutely incredible, almost metaphysical.

"Then let's go get it," Yusei replied, throwing her an extra helmet. It was almost like Deja vu - except that this time she had a proper place to sit on after Yusei had recently and inexplicably made some adjustments to allow extra seating.

The moment Aki put it on and mounted the D-Wheel behind him, he revved up the engine and sped off. He felt her hands tightly clutch onto him from his abrupt speed and grinned. The hottest part was, of course, how closely she pressed herself against him. No, the _very_ hottest part was feeling her voluptuous breasts against his back. That's why Yusei sped at almost 40 over limit. No, it wasn't because he was hurrying to get to her D-Wheel, no, not really.

Aki didn't think that she ever went this fast on a motorcycle. She grabbed onto Yusei like her life depended on it and, at this speed, it seemed like it just might. _I'm going to die today, that's for certain_, she thought and as Yusei took a particularly sharp turn she gasped and closed her eyes, grabbing onto him so hard that it felt like she was going to melt onto him. She couldn't deny to herself, however, the intense exhilaration that she was getting right now. She could barely breathe and she couldn't tell if it was because of the speed or they were so close. With her hands clasped on his hard abs she knew her answer – it definitely _wasn't_ just the speed. She pressed her face against his back and breathed in his smell. She could probably get off right then and there.

_Damn him, damn him!_ thought Aki angrily.

Thankfully (or not?) they had already reached the harbour and the D-Wheel slowed down to a stop. Aki rushed to get off the motorbike, handing him the helmet and hiding her flushed face as she turned away to fix her hair.

"Look!" Yusei said as he removed his own helmet (and his hair was as flawless as ever, ugh!) and pointed in the direction of her D-Wheel. Aki saw that it was still parked where she left it except that now it was surrounded by five young teenagers, aged anywhere between twelve to fourteen. One of them was sitting on top of her D-Wheel and the other had a portable tool kit with him with which he was trying to start up the engine.

"Hey!" Aki shouted, running up towards them, "This is mine!"

The youth stared at her, first startled as if they expected her to be New Domino's Security, and then they laughed her off. "How do we know that this is yours? It doesn't have your name on it, does it?" asked the boy who was sitting atop of her D-Wheel. He appeared to be the "gang's" leader.

Yusei was watching the situation from afar with some amusement. He wondered how Aki would deal with this.

"Maybe it's mine because I have keys to it," Aki said, holding up her keys for them to see, "Now, seriously, scram!"

The boys just laughed her off completely once again and resumed their business of trying to hotwire the motorbike without the owner's keys as if she wasn't there standing over them.

Aki was too drained to do this. She just wanted to go home and go to sleep and this was a very frustrating nuisance on the way of her plan. So she turned and looked at Yusei, slightly pouting, her eyes pleading. If the boys weren't going to listen to her then they would definitely listen to somebody like Yusei.

Yusei caught her pleading look and rolled his eyes in mock annoyance, getting up from his D-Wheel and making his way towards the troublemakers.

"Guys, if a nice girl here says that it's her D-Wheel and presents valid evidence to claim it then you should probably give it back. She might call Security, you know?" he said, folding his arms across his chest as he stood next to Aki. He was quite amused although his tone of voice was rather serious, as always.

It seemed that the little gang had noticed him for the first time and a few of them gasped, as he guessed, recognizing him.

"It's Fudo Yusei, it's the King!" the smallest of the boys squeaked and all the other boys stared at him with astonishment, murmuring, "Wow..." and quickly jumping away from the D-Wheel, their mouths wide open.

Only their "leader" seemed unimpressed and that was probably because he was trying to keep up his image. He raised up his chin, trying to look proud and indifferent, and continued sitting on Aki's motorbike as he said, "No big deal, I say: if you are the King then you wouldn't mind duelling me for this D-Wheel. Otherwise, we're keeping it!"

Yusei looked at the leader. He seemed to be the oldest in the group, probably closer to the age of 15. He seemed brave and proud but these two qualities had the capability of bordering on impulsive and cocky.

"I will gladly duel you, actually. But today I'm going to have to have to take a raincheck: it's been a long day and we've got to get going home," Yusei replied, moving closer to the D-Wheel, and motioning for Aki to come take her bike when suddenly the young man snarled at him in retaliation. Yusei stepped back, unpleasantly startled.

"I see how it is. The King is afraid of a challenge. Are you chicken?" the young guy shouted and jumped off the D-Wheel, grabbing a screwdriver off the ground and smashing it into the bike's tail lights.

At that point Aki didn't even have enough energy to be surprised. She just threw her arms up, hopelessly. Seriously? Just how much more dramatic could this get? This day was utterly exhausting and it felt like it would never be over. Everything that could have happened in one day happened and _more_.

_I don't have time for this,_ Yusei thought, now very annoyed and aggravated. He couldn't believe what this kid just did – apparently hurting others to get his way was something that left him completely unhinged. It was something that he probably did quite casually and quite often. Yusei looked at Aki, seeing her bleak expression, and he knew that there was only one way to deal with this.

"As you wish then," he complied coldly with the boy's conditions, walked back to his D-Wheel and picked up the duel-disk, placing it on his arm. Inconspicuously, he noticed some blood stains on the ground. This was probably the spot where Aki fought the deceased man. He decided not to bring any attention to this fact especially since the stains were barely noticeable during night time anyway.

Meanwhile, the boy smirked and ushered for one of his friends to bring him his duel disk as well. "Takashi, what are you doing..." mumbled the boy's friend as he handed him the duel disk but Takashi told him to shut up, snapping the device onto his arm and shouting, "Duel!"

"Duel," Yusei affirmed, shaking his head. He was disappointed, genuinely disappointed.

The boy's friends seemed to be less daring and assertive than him. They all stepped far back away from their "leader" and from the D-Wheel. They definitely weren't up for a hopeless challenge against the King, a challenge for something that wasn't theirs to begin with.

"I'll take the first turn, draw!" the boy proclaimed and drew a card.

[Takashi]

[**Beginning of Turn One**: 0 Monsters; 0 Cards on Field; 6 Cards in hand; LP4000]

"I summon Ronintoadin in Defence Mode!" Takashi shouted, placing the card horizontally onto the duel disk and a large bluish frog appeared with 100 attack and 2000 defence points.

"I also place one card face down on the field and end my turn!" the boy declared and stood there, grinning.

[Takashi]

[**End of Turn One**: Ronintoadin (Lvl.2) ATK100/DEF2000; 1 Face down Card; 4 Cards in hand; LP4000]

"Good job, Takashi, you've got a really strong monster out on the field already!" exclaimed one of his friends and the rest of the gang quietly cheered him on.

"My turn," Yusei said indifferently and drew a card.

[Yusei Fudo]

[**Beginning of Turn One**: 0 Monsters; 0 Cards on Field; 6 Cards in hand; LP4000]

Yusei looked down at the cards in his hand and saw that his cards were listening to him, as always. This duel would be over as soon as it started. His eyes trailed off to look at Aki standing off on a side, looking drained and miserable, and he knew that he was doing this for her and for her _only_.

"When my opponent has monsters on his field and I have none then I can Special Summon Level Warrior from my hand. Level Warrior, appear in Attack mode," Yusei said and a monster in appearance of an '80s TV superhero appeared, its attack points at 300 and defence points at 600, "Level Tuner is generally a level 3 monster but if it's Special Summoned this way then its level increases to 4."

The boy named Takashi laughed on his side of the field, "You're summoning that weak puny monster against Ronintoadin? What a joke!"

"Then I Normal Summon a tuner Hyper Synchron in Attack mode," Yusei continued, completely ignoring the laughing. This boy was cocky, immature and apparently completely inexperienced.

Hyper Synchron, a blue cybernetic monster with attack of 1600 and defence of 800 points, appeared on the field next to Level Warrior.

"And now, I tune my level four Hyper Synchron to my level four Level Warrior to Synchro Summon my Stardust Dragon!" Yusei said and slammed the silver Synchro card onto his duel disk.

"Clustering hopes will become a new shining star! Become the path its light shines upon! Synchro Summon! Take flight, Stardust Dragon!" Yusei chanted, commanding his faithful Dragon to appear. And when the dragon took its immense silver and shining form, its attack of 2500 points and defence of 2000 points showed up.

Aki smiled lightly as a gorgeous white dragon lit up the night sky. She knew right then that this would be over very soon.

At the same time, Takashi was looking quite uncomfortable and worried. He kept looking down at the face down trap card he placed on his field, apparently unable to apply it to the current situation.

"When Hyper Synchron is used as a tuner material to Synchro Summon a Dragon monster, the summoned Synchro Dragon has its attack increased by 800 points. But that's not all," Yusei continued while Stardust's attack power raised from 2500 to 3300, "I will play this Magic card, Card Rotator – by discarding one card from my hand I can change positions of all monsters on my opponent's side of the field. So your Ronintoadin is now in Attack mode."

Yusei casually removed one card from his hand, sending it to the Graveyard while the monster on Takashi's field forcibly moved into Attack mode, revealing its inferior 100 attack points versus the 2000 defence points it had previously.

Takashi was making whimpering noises at this point but Yusei didn't really feel bad. Yusei wasn't in a good mood and he wasn't playing around. He wasn't enjoying this duel in the least especially after he had originally imagined how a duel with these younglings would be.

"Now, Stardust Dragon, attack his Ronintoadin," Yusei said and watched as the Stardust Dragon obliterated the weak monster, sending the boy's Life Points dropping down to 800.

"Lastly, I place one card face down on the field and end my turn," Yusei concluded, placing down a hidden card and waiting.

[Yusei Fudo]

[**End of Turn One**: Stardust Dragon (Lvl.8) ATK2500/DEF2000; 1 Face down Card; 1 Card in hand; LP4000]

Takashi was biting his nails nervously while staring down at his cards and then up at Yusei's dragon and then back down at his cards. His friends were silent and their expressions varied from gloomy to awed.

"Okay, here goes..." the gang's leader took in a deep breath, "Draw!"

[Takashi]

[**Beginning of Turn Two**: 0 Monsters on the Field; 1 Face down Card; 5 Cards in hand; LP800]

The boy looked at the card he just drew and his face lighted up with a wide grin.

"Okay, you might be in the lead now, Fudo Yusei, but not for long!" Takashi exclaimed and showed the card he just drew to everyone, "I will now play my Magic card, Dark Core! By discarding one card from my hand I can remove from play one face-up monster from the field. So I choose your Stardust Dragon, Yusei!"

Yusei watched, calmly, as his Stardust Dragon disintegrated.

Aki wondered then why Yusei didn't just use Stardust's effect to release Stardust and thus destroy Takashi's Magic card. This way he would be able to Special Summon Stardust back on the field at the end of Takashi's End Phase. She found out exactly why he did this in a moment.

"And now I-" Takashi started saying but he was abruptly interrupted by Yusei's voice.

"Not so fast," Yusei said, flipping the face down card on the field up, "I activate my Trap card, Cosmic Blast. When a Dragon-Type Synchro monster under my control is removed from field, Cosmic Blast inflicts damage to my opponent equal to that dragon's attack power. My Stardust Dragon's attack was 3300 points when it was destroyed, so you receive 3300 points of direct damage. You have doomed yourself."

"No!" Takashi yelled out and covered his head, shrieking when 3300 points of damage were inflicted upon him with a Cosmic Blast from solid vision. His Life Points went from 800 to zero. He wasn't even able to finish his 2nd turn.

Cold, quick, and ruthless.

[**Winner**: Yusei Fudo, LP4000]

The boy fell down to his knees and began hitting the ground with his fists. Tears of embarrassment stung at his eyes as he mumbled over and over again, "You cheated! You cheated! You can't do all those things in one turn! You cheated!"

Yusei walked past him, saying absolutely nothing, and silently motioned for Aki to come and get her D-Wheel. The other boys looked completely excited and amazed, apparently not caring in the least that their friend just got completely obliterated. Evidently, watching a King of Games do what a King is best at was more than worth it for them.

Yusei wasn't an asshole, he really wasn't. Ordinarily, making children cry was not on his priority list and it was usually something that he readily fought against. But, once again, today wasn't an ordinary day. Today, this boy had asked for this and he had to be taught a lesson in the only way that he could understand. Even when Yusei and his friends lived in Satellite's slums as kids they never, _ever_, stole from others, and especially not when somebody came forward to claim his or her rightful property. They collected unwanted scraps and it would never have occurred for them to take from others or to do things just to hurt others. So had this boy only accepted Yusei's raincheck then they would have definitely had a fun and an easygoing duel tomorrow or whenever. But no, he wanted to do it his own way and, in the process, damaged Aki's D-Wheel. So this was karma, that's all it was.

"Find a new hobby," Yusei said to the rest of the gang and then turned his whole attention on Aki, "Are you going to be okay to drive?"

Aki nodded, putting on her helmet, "I'll be fine, I really just need to get home."

"I'll follow you," he responded, went back to his D-Wheel, and soon the two of them sped off away from the harbour.

As she was driving on the darkened streets of Neo Domino, Aki could hear Yusei's D-Wheel following right behind her and she found the whole situation kind of sexy. He was watching over her and he was following her home to make sure she would get home safe. Aki wished that she wasn't so tired because then she would definitely have appreciated this more if she was her usual self. She probably would have challenged him to a race and tempted him into playing cat and mouse. Now that, _that_, would have been really sexy. But not today.

They finally got to her mansion and he walked her to her door.

Yusei felt an uncomfortable silence between them.

Aki felt like this situation had all the prerequisites to turn out really uncomfortable but she was way to sleepy to care at this point.

Aki opened her front door, picked up her mewing kitten Yami, and turned to face Yusei. She was about to wish him good night and thank him for coming so promptly per her request and getting her home when she remembered that he wanted to talk to her about something.

"Yusei...you mentioned that you needed to talk to me about something at the hospital. What is it?" she asked, cradling the black kitten to her chest.

He had to admit that he was slightly taken off guard. But at the same time, he wasn't _really_ making it up when he had something to ask her: earlier on, when she was recalling today's events to him, he was able to notice a small inconsistency in her story.

"You said earlier on that you were at the harbour when you met Mokuba-san and when you were challenged to a duel. But..." he paused, reaching to pet Yami and hearing it purr. He was also quite aware that his hand was now dangerously close to her cleavage. Actually, petting her cat also gave him an opportunity to stare at her breasts discreetly. "...I wonder… what were you doing at the harbour to begin with? You left all of us earlier on and it seemed like you had some urgent and important business. Is everything okay?"

Aki felt her heart yank in her chest. _Why do you have to be so perceptible, Yusei? _she thought, painfully. He was now staring at her directly and she hesitated, looking away from his piercing stare. She didn't know what would be a worse: _lying_ to him for the first time in her life or actually telling him the truth.

"Why?" she asked, avoiding his eyes. Obviously avoiding the question was the best solution.

A harrowing unpleasant feeling began forming in Yusei's heart. What did she not want to tell him?

"Because..." he started saying and broke off. What was he doing? And what could he possibly say right now? It was weird as it is, mentioning to her that apparently it upset him that she had left all of them to go somewhere else. He wondered if she was feeling creeped out. He wondered if this was the wrong thing to bring up. And he wondered if they were really that good of friends to begin with if she wasn't going to tell him the truth.

"Because...it was my birthday, Aki," he said quietly, watching her intently, his heart racing. He then decided to slightly minimize the impact of those words by adding, "And I needed all of my friends to be there."

She wasn't saying anything and every second of her silence felt to him like hours.

Aki, on the other hand, was feeling mortified. She felt so guilty. Yusei was right of course: she owed it to him as a friend and after all that they've been through to at least stay with him and their friends for this occasion. She shouldn't have made a date on the same day. At the same time, Aki felt angry. He needed all of his friends to be there? Did anything at all made her different for him from his others? Or did he just want a simple collective effort from everybody?

"I just had to do something, Yusei. The timing was unfortunate," she finally replied, looking up and meeting his eyes. She felt like he was reading right through her but at the same time she wasn't lying, she just wasn't really _saying_ anything. That's the only thing that the compromise between her guilt and anger allowed her to say.

Yusei's eyes narrowed slightly. He was no longer petting the kitten.

He was going to go for it.

"Were you seeing somebody, Aki?" he asked and Aki flinched, her eyes widening.

That was all the reaction he needed to see to know the truth. He lost his breath.

So she _was_ seeing somebody. It didn't matter to him if it was that wretched Mokuba or somebody else. It honestly didn't matter right now. Right now it was the fact itself, the action, not the person.

Yusei swallowed a painful knot in his throat. It was such a strange sensation, feeling like his throat was closing up.

Aki's heart raced and she could hear its thumping in her ears. The thumping was so loud that she wondered if even he was able to hear it. Sleep? Right now she couldn't even remember what sleep was.

"And what of it, Yusei? What if I _was_? What of it, tell me?" she prompted him, her voice nearly breaking. _If you have something to say, Yusei, then say it right now. Please, just say it,_ she was pleading in her mind. Why was he asking? Did he care? Was he bothered by this? Why couldn't he just _tell_ her? She needed to know because not knowing pained her every single day.

"Nothing. There is nothing of it, Aki. I was just wondering. Good for you," Yusei replied, avoiding looking at her, "Why don't you stop by tomorrow and I'll fix that busted tail light on your D-Wheel? It won't take too long. But you have a good night now."

Aki felt like she got kicked in the stomach. _Nothing. Just wondering. Good for you_. Her cruel mind was repeating those poisonous words over and over again, as if in a loop.

"Ah...yeah, I'll do that. Thank you for coming today, Yusei," she said, forcing herself to smile. Smile. Just smile. Why can't you smile. Her end result was some kind of a pathetic and trembling smirk, but he wasn't even looking at her to notice it.

Instead, he nodded, silently, and hurried back towards his D-Wheel which he then quickly drove out of her driveway and onto the main road. He couldn't look back, he just couldn't. Yes, today wasn't an ordinary day: today was probably one of the most hurtful days of his life, the emotional pain far and beyond overshadowing any physical.

"Happy 20th birthday, Yusei..." Aki whispered through her tears and then slowly closed her door.

* * *

_Geez, this was one long day – it went on for 5 chapters (well, excluding 99% of Chapter 1 and 90% of Chapter 3)!_

_So for next chapter: will we find out if Aki and Yusei patch up their friendship? Will we find out what was the point of that small duel in the middle of the chapter (and if it's more than just making Yusei look badass and mean to kids)? Will Yusei figure out what's up with his cool new tattoo? Will another boring duel happen? WHO IS ERIC CARTMAN'S FATHER!_

_Stay tuned and you (might) find out!_

…_well, excluding that thing about Cartman's father. _


	7. Chapter 6: Yusei, interrupted

_Author's Note:_

_Here is Chapter 6 of "The Kingdom [be]Comes"! _

_It's got feelings. And drama. And swearing. Also, plenty of Aki and Yusei. _

_Let me know what you think!_

_Thank you for reading and thank you so much for your reviews!_

_**NineInchNailed.**_

_**

* * *

**_

_**"Your future is created by what you do today, not tomorrow."**_

_~Robert Kiyosaki._

_

* * *

_

Yusei knew that he had practically asked for this. For Aki to be with somebody else. They have been friends for two years now and there was always, _always_, sexual tension between them. Yes, he had some doubts and uncertainties about its nature and possible outcomes but he could never be so naïve as to admit that it _wasn't_ there. So he had two years to make his move but he didn't and he was to blame for losing her. After all, what did he expect? For her to make the first move? Frankly, if she had made a move on him when they first became friends – and at certain points it looked like she was hinting on it – then he would have rejected her in a split second: she would have been obviously acting out of her need to be attached to someone for approval and authority, like the whole Divine issue. By the way, thank god that asshole Divine was eaten by an Earthbound God.

Then did he expect her to wait for him? To wait for him to make up his mind and to be the one to make the first move? The thing was, he _couldn't_ make up his mind. He liked her, very much. But was this liking, this crush, this _lust_, was it worth all the risks? Worth losing her as a friend if things didn't work out? Worth losing an irreplaceable ally and a Signer if things went wrong? Yusei had lived his whole life with a burden of responsibility, of always being the leader, and of always knowing what the right thing is. Those were the things expected of him and his carelessness and an incorrect judgment could potentially cost irreparable damage. Thus, when he couldn't decide on his emotions and on a right decision, he had decided that ignoring these feelings for Aki was the best possible solution. And it was a great solution and it worked quite well…until now.

So was it worth all this risk?

Yesterday it had been proven to him that yes, yes it was, that all this risk was kind of worth it. Honestly, fuck the risk.

This was Yusei's state of mind when he awoke, depressed, at 12:15 in the afternoon. He was determined to see Aki today and admit to her that he didn't actually mean anything of what he had said yesterday, the whole thing about how he didn't care if she was dating, and that he's happy for her doing it too (because he was very unhappy). He knew that he would be at a risk for rejection but at least he would know the truth and truth would be able to ease his pain, even if eventually...right?

Today was Sunday and that meant going to the gym with Crow and Jack. He was running a bit late so when he came downstairs they were already waiting for him on their D-Wheels and casually chatting.

"You took your sweet time," Crow said, starting up his motorbike, "And what's with the leather?"

Yusei still had to wear the leather jacket instead of his favourite blue jacket because that one was still damaged by Sky Dragon of Osiris "incident." He was also wearing a long sleeved shirt underneath to conceal his new dragon "tattoo." It was unfortunate because it was a hot day out.

"It's laundry day. Perhaps you've heard about it?" Yusei replied and smirked when Crow rolled his eyes.

"I don't have all day, are we going or what?" Jack asked and Yusei just nodded, mounting his D-Wheel and soon the three of them were driving on their way to the fitness centre.

They were in the changing room where Crow saw Yusei's long sleeved shirt and, with confusion, asked "What's with long sleeves?"

Yusei just stared at him, annoyed, while Jack simply remarked, "Why do you care so much about what he's wearing today?"

"No, I don't care! It's just…ugh, never mind," Crow mumbled and hurried into the training room and Yusei and Jack followed him.

As Yusei was doing his work out he thought about Aki. He thought about her all the time.

And right now he was rehearsing the conversation that he would initiate when he'd see her later on today, assuming she'd come to see him. Oh well, even if she doesn't come for a D-Wheel fix up he will be the one to make the approach regardless.

And then he became transfixed in his place as he was abruptly taken over by doubt. After all, didn't she make that date on his birthday? Doesn't that signify her complete lack of interest in him and concern for him as of now? Then, wouldn't he be going in head first into rejection or, worse, for _pity_?

He hated his indecision in this matter. He hated it, _hated_ it.

The only thing he was certain of was that he wanted to see her. So he figured that he'd just wait until today to see what happens and then just wing it.

Yusei moved on to work on bicep curls and noticed Crow talking with some giggling girls who appear to go to the gym for no other reason but to chat. Crow was quite noticeable due to his multiple criminal markers and a lot of girls always went for Jack since he was a former King, a player and, well, _Jack Atlas_ and Jack Atlas was_ always_ a chick magnet.

Yusei, himself, preferred to stay far on a side, away from public view or where people could recognize him as a still ruling King of Games and ask for an autograph or, worse, ask to duel him. He had a challenge for a duel at least once every day and although he loved dueling with all his heart, at some point, it started becoming quite redundant. Nonetheless, some fangirls always managed to find him and squeal things like, "You have such pretty eyes, Fudo Yusieee-sama!" but he had long learnt to shake them off with a polite smile. Crow always remarked how Yusei could have gotten laid with more girls than any of them could count if he had only responded in any way other than his usual cold shoulder. Frankly, Yusei was always so preoccupied with some new taunting evil at hand, or his friends, or another dueling tournament that he never truly had any time to act upon anything beyond that. He never had time for romance. And besides, Yusei wasn't that interested in a quick anonymous lay and it irritated him that his friends were not able to understand that: he was only really interested in one person and issues with her were kind of complicated.

His long sleeves were frustrating him during a workout so, without realizing, he rolled them up while still lost in his thought.

Or maybe Crow, Jack and Saiga were all right. Maybe it's about time that he's moved on from Aki. After all, _she_'s moved on. Maybe he really did wait too long to make a move. Maybe, since he's had all the opportunity and never bothered acting on it for these two years, maybe this meant that Aki and him were never really meant to be. Maybe it was time that he looked at other women and made an attempt at a relationship. Maybe a casual night of hot and steamy sex was all he needed at this time especially since it has been over two years since he's last had it. But the thing was, the few recent times he was on the verge of getting laid (to the point where a girl would be straddling his lap and trying to suck on his neck), he backed away from going all the way, much to Crow's and Jack's amusement. They couldn't possibly understand that, to him, it felt like he was cheating on Aki, as silly as it sounded because the two of them were not an item. But, regardless, even mindless fun with any other girl - including something as primitive and simple as kissing - _all of it_, made him feel awful. That was why, after attempting a few times early after meeting Aki and then much, much later, Yusei concluded that he wanted Aki, that he _really_ wanted Aki, and that nobody else would suffice.

But maybe, just maybe, next time he goes out to a bar with Crow, Jack and Saiga (maybe even today) then maybe he'll try going all the way with whoever is responsive to his liking. Perhaps the knowledge that Aki has moved on will fuel him and disable that inane guilt he's been feeling whenever he's made a move on someone else.

And then Yusei wondered if Aki would even care if she finds out that he's been sleeping around or if he's in a relationship. Would she have cared a year ago more than she would care now? Would she care at all _anymore_? Would she stand by his side and encourage it just like all his other friends might? Most of his friends would encourage it except for Ruka, of course, who, a bit over a year ago, wisely said, "I wish you and Aki-san could get together, Yusei. You love her as much as she loves you," and to which he falsely responded, "Aki and I are only friends, Ruka. And we feel for one another as friends do, no differently from how I feel about you or Rua or Crow or Jack. That's all there is to it."

Yusei's thoughts and ponderings were then unexpectedly interrupted by Crow who had abruptly closured him and, pointing at Yusei's left arm, exclaimed, "What the fuck is that?"

Snapped back to reality, Yusei stared at Crow, startled by the abrupt question, and only then realized that he had exposed his new "tattoo" to everyone after he had rolled up the sleeves. He hurried to conceal it but it was too late as Jack had also neared him and was staring at his arm with a frown. The damage had been done.

"Did you _carve_ the image of the Crimson Dragon into your arm?" Crow cried out, summoning attention from everybody in the fitness centre, "What the hell would you do that for?"

Yusei noticed that everybody was staring at the unraveling commotion and hurried to quiet Crow down by saying, "Keep your voice down and come outside."

Crow quickly complied and in less than a minute the three friends were out at the parking lot, with Crow and Jack staring at Yusei with bewildered looks on their faces.

"First, this _is_ a tattoo, this is how they look the first day after," Yusei said, lying through his teeth, as he pulled down his sleeves. It was his luck that neither Crow or Jack were tattooed. "And two, I can get a tattoo of anything I want, and especially of something with which I share such a connection."

He didn't want to tell them the truth, not before he figures out what the truth itself really is. He didn't know what that thing was on his arm or why it appeared to begin with. All he knew was that it was somehow connected to the God card and, perhaps, connected to the strange duel Aki had.

"So…having a dragon birthmark and having the whole dragon itself appear on your back from time to time is not enough?" Crow asked, perplexed, "Also, why does the Crimson Dragon look so different?"

Yusei knew that while Crow might have some doubts about what he'd said that he would still trust him regardless. Jack, on the other hand, wouldn't buy a word of it. In fact, looking at him now, Yusei saw Jack's complete lack of belief in his words. Thankfully, Yusei knew that Jack wouldn't say anything. At least not yet.

"Perhaps. It doesn't make any difference, however. It's something that I have done for myself. That's it," Yusei replied, indicating that this matter was no longer open for discussion.

"Okay…" Crow mumbled, staring at Jack for support but Jack wasn't saying anything. He was just staring back at Yusei with a suspicious look.

"Drop it, Crow. It's nothing. Now, I've got to get home because Aki might be waiting for me," Yusei said, turning to get back to the centre in order to collect his belongings.

"Aki, you say…" Crow hummed thoughtfully and then grinned, "Then we'll come with, it's on our way anyway!"

Yusei just shrugged uncaringly, saying, "Whatever you must do," as he walked away.

The three of them soon arrived back at Yusei's place just to see Aki sitting cross-legged on a sidewalk next to her D-Wheel and flipping through her duel deck.

Aki looked up to see the three guys approaching her and forced a smile. Today she awoke at two in the afternoon after having slept like she was dead, even after witnessing death and after the hurtful conversation with Yusei. It was as if after facing the somehow materialized monster La Magra her whole life force was practically sucked out. She definitely felt better and energized after over twelve hours of sleep, however, and she couldn't even remember if she had dreamt. But she _did_ remember her conversation with Yusei and she remembered it quite well, unfortunately.

"Good afternoon, guys. How have you been?" she asked, attempting at some cheerfulness and completely ignoring Yusei.

"Quite good," Jack answered while Crow ran up to her, screaming, "Izayoi!" and grabbing her up in a big hug. Aki was beyond startled by that abrupt embrace especially since Crow has never hugged her before and was completely locked in her position while the Signer twirled her around.

"Ahem…um…it's nice to see you too, Crow," she said once she was put down, blushing, and still trying to avoid looking at Yusei. She could sense him staring at her.

Yusei knew why Crow was doing this. He was just trying to get a rise out of him, the same way he did two days ago by hitting on Aki. And, frankly, Yusei was now sick and tired of people fucking with him.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you, Crow," Yusei said, as he crouched by Aki's D-Wheel, not looking at either of them, "After all, her 30 year old boyfriend might object."

Aki flinched and finally stared at Yusei, feeling like all the blood was drained from her face. She felt so embarrassed. And never before had she felt like punching Yusei in the face with all the strength she could master.

"O…kay…" Crow uttered, looking back and forth from Aki to Yusei and then he coughed, saying, "Well, I've got to go and do something...somewhere. I'll see you all tomorrow," and motioning Jack to leave with him. Jack followed his cue without a moment of hesitation.

When Jack and Crow had sped off on their D-Wheels, Aki propped her hands on her hips, taking deep breaths and trying to calm down. It further infuriated her that Yusei was completely ignoring her while he was checking out her motorcycle's broken tail light. It's like he was completely oblivious both to her presence and what he'd just said!

"So…it looks like turning twenty gives you a full permission to act like an insensitive jerk. Wow, who could have thought!" she muttered under her breath, unable to constrain her upset tone.

Yusei lazily got up from the ground, dusted off his hands, and looked at her with a blank expression on his face. "Why, isn't what I said the truth?" he asked, eyeing her.

Aki narrowed her eyes, refusing to back down from his inquisitive eye contact.

"Not that it matters, Yusei, but no, it's _not_ the truth. So just because you _believe_ it's true must automatically mean that it is, right?" she responded, angrily. How dare he suggest that she's dating Mokuba, a totally random man he's met for two seconds yesterday, and how dare he bring out her personal life into spot light for others? Why did he say something like this anyway, is he just trying to get back at her for "double dating" him? How dare he use this as a weapon to embarrass her in front of others?

"I only called it as I saw it," Yusei replied with a casual shrug. In reality, this was anything but a casual conversation. His cool and calm exterior was concealing his insane heartbeat and his emotional conflict. He was also quite startled by the negativity of her response and her defensiveness. At the same time, he felt even worse. So if it wasn't Mokuba then there was someone _else_? Just how many other guys has she been seeing and for how long?

"Oh yes, because you are _never_ wrong, Yusei. No, no, you are _always_ right about everything. Always right to assume the _worst_ but only when it comes to me it seems!" she exclaimed in a supposed sarcastic tone but her last words came from her heart. Her embarrassment turned to hurt. If this was how he had actually thought of her then this wasn't something that she would be able to bear.

Yusei winced at her words, almost like he was being slapped, and quickly shook his head, "No, it's not like that. I-"

"You what? You didn't really think about what you were saying? Or you wanted to hurt me, just because, or to make me pay for skipping out on your birthday? I've never even thought that you'd capable of holding a grudge!" Aki shouted, having gotten so wound up that she couldn't stop rambling out all her frustration.

Yusei scowled but held his ground. As far as he was concerned, _she_ was the one who skipped out on his birthday because _she_ decided to have some apparently anonymous date, and all of this just screamed that she didn't care about _him_ and that she didn't mind hurting _him_, not the other way around as she was trying to make it out to be!

"I'm disappointed, Aki," he replied, rather coldly, and folded his arms on his chest, "Rather than answering the issue at hand you prefer to shift guilt around. Why is that? Why can't you just be honest?"

Aki's face was dark red now. He was _disappointed _in her? As in, she doesn't measure up to some unknown expectations he has of her and that she now she needs to prove to him that, in fact, she does? Her whole body was shaking and she didn't know if it was because of her accelerating anger with him or because he was consistently reading right through her. This was beyond cruel and maddening. She hated that he wasn't taking _any_ responsibility for what he had said to her, and that now he was accusing _her_ of shifting guilt!

She could walk away right now. She didn't have to stay there and take this. But she refused to give up to him especially since he's been basically treating her like a leper for all of today. And why has he? Why was this of such concern to him all of a sudden? Didn't he basically say that he didn't care last night?

"Honesty? You want honesty, Yusei? Fine, whatever helps you sleep at night! I met this guy at the "Kaiba" gala, you see. He was very nice. He complimented me and said that I looked pretty that night. He asked me out. And I said yes," Aki said, feeling like she was about to cry. But he wanted to hear the truth and now he was going to get it, no matter how difficult it was.

"That's nice," Yusei responded, his tone of voice indifferent while he was feeling anything but.

"Oh wait, but I'm not done! I _knew_ that it was your birthday when I said yes. Do you want to know why I said yes?" she instigated at him, her eyes glistening, her hands clenched into tight fists.

Yusei flinched, drew in a shuddering breath and looked away from her piercing stare. The truth hurt more than he could have imagined. Maybe he never should have pushed for it. Maybe he didn't want to hear the truth after all. But wouldn't the knowledge that she's been lying to him hurt far greater? At this point he couldn't tell.

"No, I don't want to know," he answered, turning his back to her and walking back to her D-Wheel, pretending like he was thinking about ways of fixing it rather than focusing on calming his inner turmoil.

"Oh no, no, you _want_ to know, Yusei. Otherwise, why would you continuously and insistently bring this up? So, I took the date because I was _bored_, Yusei. Because every day has been exactly the same, because _nothing ever changes_," she said, her voice breaking. She was staring at his back because he was no longer facing her and no longer, it seemed, even listening to her.

Yusei was looking down at the ground, while listening intently, absorbing her every word. _Nothing ever changes_, he thought, _does it?_

"I think you'd like this part the best, Yusei: guess what? The guy stood me up! Yes, I went to give you your present and then I left to meet him and he didn't show up! And do you know why? Because he realized that I was the Black Rose Witch! And of course, who in the world would ever want to date such a freak, right?" she screamed out, unable to stop herself. All her hurt, suppressed on the inside, was spilling out, and all because he had provoked her, all because he _insisted_ on knowing.

Yusei took in a deep breath, closing his eyes, and refusing to face her while her words pulled at his heartstrings. _You are so wrong, Aki_, Yusei thought_, how can you be so wrong_? He wondered if it was finally the time, if it was now or never.

"Oh yeah, and one last thing: your disappointment means _nothing_ at this point. Nothing. So fuck you!" she screamed, hiding her face behind her hands. It was taking her all her strength not to break down sobbing.

The last part was a lie of course. Yusei's opinion, his approval, meant more to her than anything else. It was his apparent disapproval, his _disappointment_ with her, which sent her over the edge.

And Aki was completely oblivious to the fact that Yusei knew that, too. And that he was capable of filtering out her lies like it was some kind of 6th sense.

She could only see the darkness of her hands when she suddenly felt a light touch on her shoulder. He was touching her. Ordinarily, Aki would have almost fainted from any physical contact with him, from any such proximity but right now she was too angry and too upset to care. He pushed her to do this and she hoped that he was happy now.

Aki shook her head, keeping her eyes closed and pushed his hand off. She didn't want him to touch her right now, his touch scolded her like fire. Either way, what the hell did he think he was doing? Did he honestly think that touching her right now was a good idea? That it would make her forget everything that had just happened?

But apparently he didn't comprehend her rather obvious gesture because the next thing she felt was his hand on her cheek. It was then that she looked up from her hands to verbally tell him off and almost jumped when she realized that he was standing obscenely close to her and that his face was just inches away from hers.

Staring into his cobalt blue eyes, she forgot everything that had just happened, and all her anger, anguish and frustration completely and inexplicably vanished. She couldn't think. She could only feel his hot breath on her lips.

His hand now framing her face, Yusei leaned in for a kiss.

He was going to kiss her, to kiss Aki, to finally accomplish what he's only imagined and dreamt about. His heart was racing so fast that he felt like he was on the brink of a heart attack. There could not be a more appropriate moment than this, right now. She was so hurt and confused and doing this will finally tell her that he liked her and that he'd liked her all along. He was finally going for it. He saw her eyes close and right before his lips touched hers their breathless euphoria was abruptly interrupted by a high pitched boyish yell.

"Fudo Yusei!" a voice screamed, and Yusei blinked, snapping out of his daze, and span around to face the screamer.

Aki realized that she's been holding her breath all this time (which could explain her lightheadedness…or could it?) and quickly breathed in, deeply. She continued staring in the empty space where Yusei was seconds ago, thoughts racing in her head. Had something just happened or, rather, _hadn't _happened? She touched her face where his hand had touched her, feeling like she was burning up from intense fever.

"Yes, you! I challenge you for a rematch, Fudo Yusei, after you've _humiliated_ me and embarrassed me in front of my friends! And this time I will not lose!" shouted the boy named Takashi as he stood alert with his duel disk.

_Are you serious_? Yusei thought in utter disbelief, _Is this a joke? You want to duel me again? What's going on with today's timing?_ This was almost as annoying as when Ushio repeatedly stalked him, challenging him to a duel an insane number of times, all over the course of a couple of days!

He really wanted to tell this kid to buzz off but after being kind of mean to him yesterday, Yusei decided to let him off a bit gentler.

"Okay…Takashi-kun, right? Listen to me: you have got to stop assuming that just because want to challenge me whenever you feel like it that I'm as thrilled as you are about it. I mean it, _this_ _is not a good time_," Yusei said, firmly articulating every word, as he tried to convey his refusal. He clearly wasn't in the mood for this. He _clearly_ had better things to do right now than to entertain some spoiled brat! And honestly, had this kid been less spoiled and actually wanted to duel for some good cause then Yusei would not have only agreed to this duel but he would have encouraged it!

"I will not take no as an answer," the kid said and a strange, almost maniacal, grin crossed his features. Yusei felt a shudder pass through him, it was as if he was observing something ghastly that's just about to form. He looked at Aki for support, wondering if she had sensed something similar.

But Aki was too dazed to see or hear any of this interaction. Her mind locked in that moment between Yusei and her and had just shared on repeat, looping it over and over again, leaving her breathless.

Yusei noticed the dreamy look in her eyes and figured that he won't be getting any information out of her for awhile.

"There is no other alternative," Yusei responded, coldly and insistently. Every muscle in his body tensed up when the strange sensation of danger systematically increased instead of vanishing.

"Oh yes, I agree. There is _no_ other alternative!" the boy shouted and pulled out a Swiss pocketknife from his pocket. Before Yusei even had an opportunity to realize what was happening, the boy slashed the blade against his forearm with all his strength.

Aki snapped out of her dreamy daze and let out a scream of terror.

Yusei's eyes widened and his mouth snapped open in shock. He couldn't even make a sound.

It appeared that the pocketknife was a bit dull because the boy, once again, hacked the knife into the fresh wound.

Yusei and Aki both winced at the nauseating action and Aki snapped her hands over her mouth, feeling like she was about to throw up. This was a child, a _child_, doing this!

Like a man possessed, the boy knelt down, pressing his injured arm against the ground and began chanting, ""I offer a sacrifice worthy of a god's glory to possess the divine power of wrath, to withhold the sanctity of retribution …"

"This is it, it's going to happen now," Aki whispered, almost inaudibly, but Yusei heard everything she said and he knew exactly what was happening.

"Takashi-kun, stop!" he yelled out having finally regained his ability to speak but it was too late.

"…and to offer agony in return for righteous justice. _Out of Order, Chaos to commence_," the boy finished and the ground began shaking with what it seemed like a six on Richter scale while a sudden intense current of wind overwhelmed them. Yusei and Aki shielded their faces from the storm while struggling to keep their balance, a task that appeared to be effortless for Takashi.

Multiple crimson red lines rapidly spread out from where the boy's blood dripped, creating a glowing crimson outline of colossal size, stretching out at least one hundred metres in diametre. When the enormous circle finished forming and the ground stopped shaking Aki once again recognized some of the produced symbols as Egyptian hieroglyphs.

Yusei recognized that it was the _Sutekh Sacrificō_ seal about which Aki told him about, the seal which unmistakably requires the blood sacrifice to materialize and which gives one of the duelists the apparent advantage of the La Magra monster.

"See? I told you that you didn't have a choice, Yusei!" the boy shouted, laughing gleefully, as if completely oblivious to his own gashing wound. The boy's eyes, including their whites, now attained the colour of deep copper. "And when you lose you'll bleed out to your death, Yusei! Now, let's duel!"

Yusei admitted to finding Takashi rash, spoiled and borderline a juvenile criminal earlier on but this was _not_ the boy he was facing now. He was now somebody possessed by something fundamentally evil, something that appeared to have taken this boy's primitive desires and instincts and amplified them by a thousandfold. This amplification also appeared to mute common and moral sense in the possessed individual with its "die or let die" guideline.

Yusei had to act quickly. The boy's already greenish and pale skin was more than indicative of the seriousness of his injury, as well as how quickly the time was running out. That wound would soon become lethal.

"You don't have much time, Yusei…" Aki whispered and Yusei nodded, snapping the duel disk onto his arm.

"Duel!"

* * *

_Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooh….drama. Also, a cliffhanger!_

_And wow, I can't believe that kid interrupted what could have been their first kiss! Yusei better pwn him as much as he pwned in their last duel! _

_So, next chapter: will we find out what exactly happened to Takashi? Will Yusei win the duel on time or will Yusei lose the duel on purpose just to save the boy? Will Yusei and Aki finally make out? Will we see Mokuba Kaiba again? Will Yusei play the Egyptian God Card? _

_Stay tuned and you (might) find out!_


	8. Chapter 7: A god awakening

_Author's Note:_

_And here is Chapter 7 of "The Kingdom [be]Comes"! _

_We previously left off Yusei and Aki on a slight cliffhanger so now we find out what happens to them! There is some plot exposition, some twists, some violence and some swearing. _

_I hope you enjoy this chapter and let me know what you think!_

_Thank you for reading,_

_**NineInchNailed**__._

_

* * *

_

_**"What separates the winners from the losers is how a person reacts to each new twist of fate."**_

_~Donald Trump._

_

* * *

_

Aki unconsciously moved closer to Yusei, perhaps out of instinctual desire for protection and security, but the boy named Takashi apparently disliked that.

"Hey, you, move away from him! I don't want you seeing his cards and helping him out! This is just between Yusei and I!" Takashi screamed and Aki hastily stepped away from Yusei. While ordinarily Aki would have protested, the best thing to do right now was to oblige. They needed to do anything to speed up the duel and to save this boy. Aki was able to defeat her possessed opponent in four turns and still she wasn't able to save him. Aki hoped that Yusei could do it in three turns or less.

"Now, I'll take the first turn again! Watashi no turn!" Takashi exclaimed and drew a card.

[Takashi]

[**Beginning of Turn One**: 0 Monsters; 0 Cards on Field, 6 Cards in hand; LP4000]

Takashi looked at the card he drew then at the cards in his hand and laughed like a lunatic. Yusei frowned but he did not feel threatened.

"You're so screwed, Yusei! I summon Unshaven Angler in Attack mode!" Takashi said and a slimy, snake-like, blue creature with enormous fangs appeared on the field. Its attack was 1500 and defence was 1600.

Yusei wondered why the boy summoned a reasonably powerful monster in attack mode considering he wasn't able to attack this turn. Unless...he had other plans.

"And now, _you_ will see what it's like to be humiliated the way you've humiliated me, Yusei! I will now Tribute my Unshaven Angler to Tribute Summon another monster! You see, when I use Unshaven Angler as a Tribute, this monster counts as _two_ Tribute monsters for the Tribute Summon! So...the monster I will Tribute Summon is La Magra!" Takashi yelled, slamming the black coloured monster card onto the duel disk. Instantly, the ground began shaking beneath them while the loud hissing sounded, signifying the monster's appearance.

"Oh no!" Aki gasped. This couldn't be. He's summoning this beast on his _first_ turn?

Yusei looked slightly apprehensive now. He remembered what Aki had told him at the hospital. These weren't good news.

"Wait," Yusei interrupted, "Your Tribute monster can be treated as two _only_ if you Tribute Summon a Water attribute monster. La Magra is Divine. What's going on?"

"Wow, I overestimated you, Yusei! I didn't know you were actually this dumb: one of La Magra's special effects is that it possesses all of the Monster attributes – it is thus Dark, Earth, Water, Fire, Light, Wind and Divine, all in one. Behold the power of the dark servant in Defence mode!" Takashi laughed and a colossal fluid form seeped out from the cracked ground. In a moment the monster took the form of a pitch black fog and then, again, it reverted to the blood red waterfall. The menacing sighing or hissing exhumed from the monster. Its attack and defence were both at 3000 points.

Yusei and Aki were staring up at the dark monster with strange captivation. Aki felt almost entranced by its constantly fluctuating shape as she remembered being engulfed in it. Yusei, on the other hand, was trying to figure out what Takashi meant by "dark servant." A servant? Just whom did this monster serve?

"You're lucky that I cannot attack on first turn! So I'm just going to place two cards face down and end my turn!" Takashi said and a face down card appeared on the field.

[Takashi]

[**End of Turn One**: La Magra (Lvl.9) ATK3000/DEF3000 in Defence Mode; 2 Face down Cards; 2 Cards in hand; LP4000]

Yusei remembered Aki telling him about the strategy that the deceased man used – he purposefully allowed her to drain his Life Points in order to apply a lethal Equipment Magic card onto La Magra. It seemed like Takashi was doing something completely different – he was going all out on his first turn, almost as if trying to prove his worth after he lost the duel last night. It was like he was trying to teach Yusei his own lesson. _It's too bad that this kid chose such a way to go about it_, Yusei thought.

"Be extra careful, Yusei," Aki murmured to him, "That monster somehow materializes through this seal. It is as real as you and I now."

Yusei nodded to her words. She could never know just how much he appreciated her concern.

"My turn," he declared and drew a card.

[Yusei Fudo]

[**Beginning of Turn One**: 0 Monsters; 0 Cards on Field, 6 Cards in hand; LP4000]

Yusei looked at Takashi, standing so tiny and frail beyond the shadow of La Magra, and saw that he was almost deathly pale at this point. Whether or not he was realizing it, Yusei could tell that the boy's body was going into shock. Time was running out quicker than he could have imagined.

But Yusei's cards were responsive, as always. He would be able to win this duel, as fast as he needed.

"First, I summon a level 4 Heal Wever in Attack mode," Yusei said and a machine-like mirror appeared on his side of the field with attack of 800 points and defence of 1600, "And then I will play my Magic card, Double Summon – this card allows me to Normal Summon one additional time this turn, from my deck. So I'm summoning my level 4 Debris Dragon in Attack mode!"

When Debris Dragon, a small silver monster, appeared next to Heal Wever, Takashi just laughed, "You're putting up these two puny monsters in attack mode against La Magra? Is this a joke?"

Yusei realized then that while Takashi's moral ground and his common sense have been altered that his duelling style had not actually changed. It was as if somebody had just given him the La Magra card and told him that with this single card he would be able to win any duel he wishes if he only completes a blood sacrifice to this _Sutekh Sacrificō_ fiasco. Clearly the boy's strategy had not changed much with the arrival of a strange black Monster card.

Yusei didn't know that, at that same time, Aki was reaching that same conclusion. Great minds, thinking alike.

"I now tune my level four Debris Dragon to my level four Heal Weaver to Synchro Summon Stardust Dragon in Attack mode!" Yusei said but right before he placed the silver Synchro card onto his duel disk, Takashi screamed "not so fast!" and flipped up the face down trap card on his field.

To Yusei's sudden distress he realized that Takashi's trap card was Discord, the same trap card that Aki told him was used to prevent Synchro Summoning for three turns. This was like the Ghost, the Ylliaster and the Accel-Synchro business all over again!

"I activate Discord! Now you can't Synchro Summon your stupid overpowered dragon, Yusei!" Takashi exclaimed while laughing uncontrollably.

Scowling, Yusei placed two cards face down and declared the end of his turn. He was becoming quite concerned at this point because he was blocked from using his ultimate and strongest monster (including its ultimate Saviour Dragon form). His only salvation was a Magic or Trap card which would disable the effect of Takashi's.

[Yusei Fudo]

[**End of Turn One**: Heal Wever (Lvl.4) ATK800/DEF1600 in Attack Mode; Debris Dragon (Lvl.4) ATK1000/DEF2000 in Attack Mode; 2 Face down Cards on Field, 2 Cards in hand; LP4000]

"Yusei..." Aki whispered, staring at him. No matter the dire and nerve-wrecking situation they were in, Aki could never help watching him, fascinated. Watching Yusei duel was like watching a master sculptor at work: he was skilful, strategic, strong, talented... And so sexy.

"This is so great, isn't it? A complete role reversal from yesterday, Yusei! Now _you_ will be finished in one turn!" Takashi chuckled and drew a card from his deck.

[Takashi]

[**Beginning of Turn Two**: La Magra (Lvl.9) ATK3000/DEF3000 in Defence Mode; 1 Face down Card; 3 Cards in hand; LP4000]

Takashi stared at the card he just drew and uncaringly placed it into his hand.

"Okay, let's get this over with – La Magra, attack his stupid-weak Heal Wever!" the boy yelled and the constantly morphing dark figure of liquid, solid and gas sighed and dissolved into the ground, before it instantly reappeared on Yusei's side of the field. "Get ready for 2200 points of damage!"

La Magra completely swallowed up the mechanical mirror into its form, leaving not a shard behind, and then reappeared on Takashi's side. Takashi began laughing but his laugh instantly subdued when he saw that Yusei had activated a Trap card!

"Defence Draw decreases the battle damage I'd receive down to a zero. It also enables me to draw two cards," Yusei said and drew the cards. He needed something like Release Restraint Wave which, by destroying one of his own Equip Magic cards, would allow him to destroy all of his opponent's set Magic and Trap cards. To Yusei's growing dismay he realized that he drew a Level 3 monster and an ineffective, in this situation, Magic card.

"Ugh!" Takashi groaned in irritation and stomped his feet like a little kid denied a piece of candy. This would have been adorable if, at the same time, this boy wasn't bleeding to his death and driven by something ultimately wicked.

"Okay, fine! But you cannot stop the inevitable, Yusei! I end my turn," Takashi concluded and crossed his arms. He seemed to be completely oblivious to the pain and to the condition his own body was in.

[Takashi]

[**End of Turn Two**: La Magra (Lvl.9) ATK3000/DEF3000 in Attack Mode; 1 Face down Card; 3 Cards in hand; LP4000]

"My turn," Yusei declared, closing his eyes. _I need a Magic card or a Trap card. Come on, Release Restraint Wave_, he thought as he slowly drew a card.

Yusei almost never looked worried or despaired during a duel but Aki had learned to recognize practically inconspicuous signs of his apprehension. Whenever he'd place his hand on his deck, almost meditatively, Aki knew that it signified his increased reliance on his cards. And today it wasn't because he was nervous about losing, no, no: it was because his time was running out.

[Yusei Fudo]

[**Beginning of Turn Two**: Debris Dragon (Lvl.4) ATK1000/DEF2000 in Attack Mode; 1 Face down Card; 5 Cards in hand; LP4000]

When he looked at the card he drew he felt an icy shiver down his spine. He didn't draw Release Restraint Wave. He drew Sky Dragon of Osiris*****, the Level 10 card, the snarling Divine beast which he received from a mysterious "Y.M.," the card which, inexplicably, marked him, and...the card he's forgotten he had placed into his deck.

_What does this mean_? Yusei wondered while staring at the red card in his hand, _Why did I draw this card above all others? Why not the means of releasing my Stardust Dragon? Why not the means of using the power of the Crimson Dragon?_

Yusei wondered if he sometimes thought too deeply into things. Maybe not all things had meaning. Maybe not all things happened for a reason.

Regardless, he had to act quick and he knew that no matter the strangeness of this Divine card and no matter what might have happened when he first laid eyes upon it, that _this _was a card capable of providing the quick means of ending of this duel.

"I summon Bolt Hedgehog in Defence mode," Yusei said and a small hamster-like monster appeared on the field, its attack and defence both at 800 points, "And when I successfully Normal Summon I can Special Summon Oneshot Booster. Oneshot Booster, appear on the field!"

A mechanical yellow monster in a shape of two cannons appeared, its attack and defence both at zero.

Takashi burst out laughing, "Are you serious? You can't Synchro Summon! Do you want to lose _that _much quicker?"

"Yusei..." Aki mumbled. _What are you doing_? she kept trying to figure out in her mind. She had no idea what he was trying to do. Was he attempting a new kind of strategy which she's never witnessed before?

"Trust me...Aki," he suddenly replied, as if reading her mind, and his eyes locked on hers. For a second it seemed to Aki that he was looking at her almost longingly but she quickly attributed that perception to her own desire.

"This is not a Synchro Summon, Takashi-kun. I _Tribute_ my three monsters, Debris Dragon, Bolt Hedgehog and Oneshot Booster to summon a God," Yusei said and revealed the red card from his hand. A strange burning sensation appeared in his left bicep but he ignored it.

"Now take flight, Sky Dragon of Osiris!" Yusei proclaimed as he slammed the red card onto the duel disk.

"Nani?" Aki stared, confused. A God? What God? A Sky Dragon of Osiris? Where did this come from?

Takashi was looking just as confused as Aki, not uttering a single word.

The sky had instantaneously darkened with storm clouds, while rapid successive strokes of lightning broke out, striking various places within the_ Sutekh Sacrificō_ seal they were trapped in.

"Yusei, what's going on? What did you do?" Aki asked worriedly. She quickly moved closer to him but when she looked at him she saw that something was wrong.

Yusei was clenching at his left arm and his eyes were closed shut. He was almost bending over in half. He felt like his arm was set on fire, pulsating in severe pain, the same pain as when his arm was marked by the Sky Dragon but now worse, much worse.

"Yusei...?" Aki screamed in overwhelming worry, grabbing his shoulder, "Yusei, what's wrong? Are you okay?"

The massive muscular red tail emerged from the clouds, revealing numerous ivory spikes running down the whole length of the tail as well as reaching up to its materializing spine.

Yusei couldn't even feel Aki's hand, he was completely oblivious to everything but his own sudden agony. Clutching to his burning arm he collapsed to his knees. He saw nothing but darkness. Blood was trickling from his arm, concealed by the jacket, down his hand and down all the way to the ground.

Then the whole colossal shape of the Divine monster had finally appeared, blocking out the whole darkened sky, and its ear-splitting growl drowned Yusei's own cry of pain.

And then everything went completely silent in Yusei's darkness.

It felt like a celestial, almost cosmic, power was passing through him, pumping through his veins. It was horrible and yet pleasant. It was painful and yet pleasurable. It was dark and yet it was light. And while was foreign and unfamiliar this inexplicable power, this essence, was awakening in him the sensation of recognition, the sensation of familiarity, the sensation similar to that of...almost like...coming home.

Yusei drew in a deep breath and slowly opened his eyes. He saw gorgeous amber, long lashed and feline-like eyes staring down at him with outmost concern. He stared back in a dreamy daze, feeling lost and yet found. His whole body felt numb. Yusei slowly blinked and looked down to Aki's red lips, seeing that she was mouthing something unintelligible to him. It took him a few seconds to realize that she was mouthing...no, _calling_ his name.

He gasped and all of a sudden the world broke into sound, almost as if somebody had released the "Mute" button. All the sensation had returned to his body, except for pain. Yusei realized that he was kneeling down on the ground and still clutching at his left arm, which was completely soaked through with his blood at this point, and that Aki was sitting on her knees right next to him. She was _holding_ him, Yusei realized, because he felt her arms wrapped around his shoulders.

"Yusei! Yusei!" he finally heard her voice and so he quickly nodded, signifying his comprehension, and, blinking rapidly, got up to his feet.

"Aki...what did you just see happen?" he asked, smoothing his jacket, and with astonishment noticing his blood stained hands.

"You summoned that monster, Sky Dragon of Osiris, a _God_," Aki whispered in response, pointing towards the gigantic red monster currently hanging in the sky "...and the next thing you were down on your knees, bleeding out and screaming...it looked like you blacked out for a few seconds..." she said, her face as pale as death, her lips quivering, "Yusei...what did you just do?" She'd never felt so worried or so confused in her whole entire life.

Yusei looked up at Sky Dragon of Osiris, heard it let out another ear splitting roar, and felt strangely composed and calm. He knew that everything was under control now. He did not feel afraid.

"Aki," he whispered, turned to look at her, and reached out, touching her face, "It's going to be fine now. Don't worry."

Aki stared at him, still confused, but nodded as if entranced.

"Takashi-kun!" Yusei called, summoning the boy's attention, and let his hand fall from Aki's cheek, leaving a blood stain.

Takashi was standing there, looking as lost and as confused as ever. The boy's skin was deathly gray at this point and his whole body was shaking from shock although he still seemed completely unaware of this phenomenon.

"...What the fuck is that? Did you just buy a new card overnight?" Takashi asked while staring up, anxiously now, at the huge red dragon twisting in the air.

"Listen to me carefully now, Takashi-kun. This duel is over but you are going to be just alright. Everything is going to be fine. I promise you," Yusei said.

"Shut up!" was the boy's response.

"Sky Dragon of Osiris' attack and defence points are equal to the number of cards I hold in my hand. I have three. Thus Osiris' power is at 3000," Yusei continued, ignoring Takashi's demand, and flipped up the only trap card on his side of the field, "And now, I activate my trap card, Miracle Lotus –_ you_ get to draw one card from your deck while Sky Dragon gains additional 1000 points to its attack and can attack twice this turn."

"...W-what?" Takashi stuttered as he drew a card from his deck, watching Sky Dragon of Osiris' attack rise to 4000.

Dumbfounded and astonished, Aki was staring up at the magnificent red beast in the sky. _The power the likes of us have never seen before_, she thought.

"Sky Dragon, burn La Magra to the ground!" Yusei commanded and the Divine dragon let out a shattering roar. Revealing its cavernous mouth it unleashed an overwhelming electrical charge, striking the La Magra with all its power. The dark shape-shifting monster let out a hissing sigh and dissolved into the blood red ground of _Sutekh Sacrificō_.

Takashi shielded himself from the staggering attack by Osiris, barely keeping himself on his feet, while his Life Points went down to 3000.

"And now, Sky Dragon of Osiris, attack for the second and last time!" Yusei ordered, commanding the final attack without allowing the boy to recuperate.

The red dragon emitted yet another powerful electrical attack, this time attacking defenseless Takashi directly. The boy screamed as his Life Points were being drained out and, upon their complete depletion at zero, the boy fell down to the ground. The seal of _Sutekh Sacrificō_ dissolved, as if it had never been there.

[**Winner**: Yusei Fudo]

Everything was a blur from then on. Sitting on the ER couch with her head leaned against Yusei's shoulder, Aki could barely recall how fast she and Yusei picked up unconscious Takashi and sped to the hospital at almost thirty kilometres over the limit. And she could barely recall how Takashi was put on the stretcher and pushed into emergency surgery and how the attending doctor spoke to them, asking if it was yet another suicide attempt during a Duel Monsters' game because the hospital has had four more cases like this since this morning. She was just staring emptily into space, her lips slightly parted.

Yusei was sitting, slouched, and inattentively shuffling his deck of cards, just as absent-minded as Aki. He wasn't even hypersexually aware that Aki was leaning against him because, if anything, this felt so normal and so right that sexuality wasn't really playing into this at this point. They were just two human beings innately seeking comfort in one another, trying to find peace.

"Guys!" shouted a loud baritone and Yusei and Aki looked up at Crow running up to them, followed by Jack, Carly, Rua and Ruka, as well as Ushio and Mikage.

"My god, what happened to the two of you? ...Oh no, blood! ...What's going on...? ...Is that blood! ...Are you bleeding, Yusei? ...Aki...neechan, are you hurt? ...BLOOD!...How is the kid, will he survive...?" they were bombarded with concerned and anxious questions from their friends. There was too much too tell, too many people to tell it to, and just way too many things going on at the same time.

"Aki-san!" sounded a voice, unfamiliar from their friends', and all of them stared in the direction where it came from. They all saw a tallish man, dressed in a casual suit, his hands tacked into his pants' pockets. His short ponytail was just as messy as when Aki first saw him.

"Mokuba-san!" Aki exclaimed, quickly getting up from the couch to greet him. Yusei followed her, standing up as well. "I thought you were leaving Japan?"

"...Who is this man?" Rua mumbled to no one in particular. All of their friends looked completely baffled.

"I _was_ leaving Japan, Aki-san. But some important occurrences took place that demand my attention and my staying here for now," Mokuba said.

"...Okay, seriously, who the fuck is this? What the fuck is going on!" Crow was the one to ask now, unable to deal with all this mystery and confusion.

"Why don't you start by telling us the truth, Mokuba-san? Especially why you are _here_ now," Yusei quietly uttered, commanding attention as always.

A momentary silence fell, an unusual circumstance both for the company and for the busy downtown hospital.

Mokuba smiled.

"For if it wasn't Cicero who said, "By doubting we all come at truth..." So be it: my name is Kaiba Mokuba, the adopted son of late Kaiba Gozaburo, the younger brother of Kaiba Seto, the only heir to the Kaiba Corporation... and I will now tell you everything I know."

* * *

***Note**: _Just a reminder that Sky Dragon of Osiris is the Japanese version of Slifer the Sky Dragon_

_**After-Chapter Rant:**__ Ugh, I can't believe Mokuba is back! He was such an annoying and useless character in the original Yu-Gi-Oh and now he's this big part of the plot in this fanfiction! Ew... Also, is he really trying to steal Aki from Yusei? Because Aki belongs only with Yusei! He better go away soon...but not before he reveals some secrets! _

_...Or maybe he's still around because HE is the main villain! Dun-dun-dun! _

_...or maybe not. _

_I guess you're just going to have to keep reading to find out! _

_Also, I hope Yusei and Aki make out soon. I mean seriously, how can they stand all this angst, drama and sexual tension! _

_Stay tuned! _


	9. Chapter 8: Some truth revealed

_Author's Note:_

_So here is Chapter 8 of "The Kingdom [be]Comes." This chapter has a lot of talking: we find out a lot (but not everything) about what's going on and just what might be happening in later chapters. There is also some history and overview of the original Yu-Gi-Oh stuff in this, so I apologize if you hate or don't know anything about original Yu-Gi-Oh. _

_At the same time, this chapter in particular, really made me wonder whether or not this fanfic belongs in the Crossover section (between original Yu-Gi-Oh! And Yu-Gi-Oh 5D's) rather than just in Yu-Gi-Oh 5D's). But I decided that since the only character from original Yu-Gi-Oh is Mokuba and everything else either references the original or just builds upon it, then this is still Yu-Gi-Oh 5D's because the main conflict is YuseixAki and not YuseixYugi etc._

_Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter and let me know what you think!_

_Thank you for your thoughts, questions and reviews. You inspire me._

_**NineInchNailed.**_

_**

* * *

**_

_**"Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success."**_

_~Anonymous._

_

* * *

_

"Okay…so take it off and show it to me," Aki requested.

Yusei slowly stripped.

"Yusei! It's…it's…" Aki gasped.

"Big?" he attempted.

"_Ghastly_!" Aki exclaimed, her hands clapped over her mouth.

"I don't really think it's _that_ bad…" Yusei said.

"Are you kidding me? Just _look_ at it!" she insisted.

"Fair enough," Yusei replied, folding his dirtied leather jacket and placing it onto the bathroom counter. He was now wearing his usual sleeveless black shirt which revealed the loose bloody bandages and the no longer concealed dragon carving.

"And you didn't tell us right away when you got it? Seriously?" Aki asked while staring at his wounded arm and shaking her head in disbelief.

"I didn't want to needlessly worry everyone before I had a chance to figure things out," Yusei responded, jumping up to sit on the counter.

"Oh yeah, and you _really_ figured things out, didn't you?" Aki mumbled sarcastically, rolling her eyes, as she looked for some sort of towel or a sponge.

"Well, I figured out…_some_," he answered quietly, staring at her. He had finally figured out his feelings for her and wasn't that worth for something? And it was also incredibly selfish that he thought that figuring _this _out might have been more important than anything.

She didn't even hear him because she was so busy going through the drawers. "You know, while I'm pleasantly surprised as to how clean Crow's bathroom actually is, I'm frustrated as to how it seems like he has _nothing_ at all in here."

"I think it's because he's so rarely at home," Yusei speculated.

"Yes, but doesn't he shower or something? Where are the towels?" Aki rumbled but then quickly brightened with a smile when she finally stumbled on what turned out to be a towel drawer, "Ah-huh! Here they are…now let's take a look at- OH MY GOD!"

"What's wrong?" Yusei jumped down to look inside the drawer and when he saw what was in it he began to laugh, "Looks like he's home more often than I thought!"

They were both staring down at an almost finished pack of "Tropical Flavours" condoms.

While highly amusing, this situation was a bit mortifying for Aki. First of all, she never ever needed to know that Crow was using Trojans' banana flavoured condoms. And two, it felt really,_ really_ weird to be standing so close to Yusei and looking at something like this. It felt like the whole universe was subtly hinting on sexual relations right now. And by subtly hinting it was actually screaming, "Hey, here is a box of condoms. And here is a guy you're crazy about! Why not just bend over and beg him to do you right here?"

Her embarrassment or not, however, seeing Yusei laughing so wholeheartedly - especially at a time like this was - beyond delightful. He barely ever laughed like this around her...and he wasn't of very humorous type to begin with. So despite her embarrassment Aki began smiling like a fool.

At the same time, the more Yusei looked at the mortified expression on her face the more amusing he found this to be. She just looked so embarrassed and it was adorable. It looked as if she's never seen condoms before! Because she has…right…? Right? After all, who hasn't…right? After all, being as gorgeous as she was, why wouldn't she have…right? At this point he actually began wondering... Some blood circles, suicidal people, a billionaire in Crow's living room, some God card…all of that nonsense just flew right out of the window for him. "Well, at least we can assume that the towels are clean. Although…maybe you should check the expiration date on those condoms to be sure, don't you think?" he joked, sitting back up on the counter, and watching intently for her reaction.

Aki coughed, hiding her red face behind her hair (which was also red…so she wasn't really helping her case), and quickly shut the drawer before starting to wet the towel in the sink. She couldn't look at him now and she also refused to answer anything to his remarks, figuring that she'd just end up embarrassing herself further.

Yusei sighed, having finally stopped laughing, and watched her with a light smile. She did everything so carefully and elegantly... And so sexy. Seriously, just watching her wash that towel was beginning to turn him on.

"Okay, sit still," Aki requested when the towel was finally wet enough and moved closer to him, gently beginning to wipe the blood off his bicep.

Every muscle in Yusei's body tensed when the towel touched him and his heart rate spiked. This felt...really weird, just having somebody _tending _to him like this. This never really happened before. He was always the one nurturing others, not the other way around.

Aki, meanwhile, wondered if she was sick in the head because while cleansing the wound all she could think about was how muscular and sexy his arms were and how much she would love just to run her hands over them.

"You know…you don't have to do this. I could have done this myself," Yusei pointed out quietly, trying to control his accelerated breathing. This was a realization to suddenly hit him…after about fifteen minutes since she suggested helping him out with his "injury." _I guess I'm just really slow today,_ he thought, _or maybe it's because I wanted to spend time with her alone. …Yeah, it's the last one._ He wondered if maybe he should try kissing her again because, fuck, he _really_ wanted to. What had happened less than three hours ago felt like centuries had passed since. He remembered her confession and her sadness and devastation about being treated as a Black Rose Witch. It made his blood boil how horrible some people would treat her especially since how delicate she really was. He knew that if he ever found whoever it was that stood her up that he would punch him out like there is no tomorrow. And yeah…he did try to kiss her then…but at that point he was driven with such affection and compassion that he wasn't really thinking about what he was doing. So he wondered if he should really think before attempting it again because of the consequences and the implication of kissing Aki. Would she kiss him in return? What if she refuses to? If she kisses him back would it mean that she desires for him just as much as he for her? Or would his kiss mean nothing to her at this point? Maybe he had missed his chance – he had two years to act and he mustn't blame her for moving on. Maybe there was nothing he could do now. Maybe there was no point in even trying. Maybe the fact that it was so close to happening earlier on and still didn't is some sort of cosmic sign that this isn't meant to be.

"You could start by saying thank you," Aki responded, avoiding looking in his eyes. He was right of course: she didn't have to do this. But it didn't mean that she didn't want to and having watched him be in so much pain she wanted nothing more but to do everything in her power to help him. His pain inflicted agony to her. "But even the strongest of us need to let down our guards and allow for ourselves to be taken care of, at least once in awhile, Yusei. Otherwise we would fall, never to get up again, like angels with broken wings."

Yusei flinched. Was she right? Yes…yes, she was. He swallowed a knot in his throat, feeling like she had just exposed the innermost layer of his soul. He had spent all of his life taking care of others, crushed under inhumane burden of responsibility for everything and everyone…so she was right, so right. He closed his eyes, drew in a deep breath and relaxed, giving in to her gentle and soothing touch on his wounded skin, allowing her, the first and only person, to_ really_ take care of him.

Barely seconds after he came to that groundbreaking conclusion, Aki unfortunately stopped doing what she was doing. "There, all done," she said and pulled back to rinse the towel before throwing it into the laundry, "I guess there is no point in bandages right now since everybody wants to see it. And you know what…it doesn't really look that horrible anymore. I mean…it kind of looks like a cool tattoo. Without the tattoo part."

Yusei opened his eyes and smiled at her, saying "Thanks," as he jumped down from the counter and picked up his jacket.

"Sure," Aki replied, returning a bashful smile and began nervously playing with a strand of her hair. She was intensely aware of him as they stood close in that small bathroom. She remembered the proximity between them right before the duel today, remembered the way he looked at her, remembered his breath, remembered his touch, remembered how the time had stopped…and remembered how it looked like he was about to kiss her. She wondered what it would have been like, had they not been interrupted, had it been what she thought was a kiss. Would it have been gentle? Would it have been breathless and passionate? Would it have been quick or slow? Would he have kissed just her lips or would he have delved for her tongue? At the same time, Aki wondered if he really was trying to kiss her or if it was something else… two years of such mixed signals from him really messed up her ability to read body language when it came to opposite sex. And she's never really had enough experience with the opposite sex to be able to interpret sexual signals correctly to begin with...

"I think we made others wait long enough," Yusei remarked and Aki awoke from her daze, nodding. He was probably right because the time stood still for her when she was around him and she had no idea just how long they've been here.

She moved to open the bathroom door when, all of a sudden, she felt his hand gently tuck a loose lock of hair behind her ear and then his warm lips on her forehead.

Yusei closed his eyes as he kissed her forehead while Aki's eyes widened and she was completely frozen. _What does this mean, what does this mean, what does this mean?_ she was repeating over and over in her head, completely immobilized by this foreign display of intimacy, from Yusei and from _anyone_.

His lips released her and he moved back and the two of them just stared at one another.

_Kiss me, kiss me, kiss me_, Aki was thinking.

"Let's go," he said, breaking the long eye contact, and opened the door, leaving.

Aki stayed behind, blinking slowly and feeling like her blood pressure had just dropped. What had just happened? She wished for this not to have been so confusing. She wished for Yusei to just _tell _her that he feels the same way for her - if he even did - or for him to tell her that he doesn't want her and thus allow her to finally move on. If it was the latter it would irrevocably break her heart but it was probably better than not knowing.

But no, no, no…she wouldn't be able to move on. She wished to have been able move on from thinking about him, dreaming about him, or just _breathing_ him. She wished she could have convinced her heart to feel otherwise but her heart wouldn't permit her to. And after two years there was nobody that was able to replace him and she was no longer sure if there was anybody that ever could.

Aki finally followed him and walked out to see everybody waiting for them impatiently.

"You took your sweet time," Jack mumbled and Yusei just shrugged, taking a seat at the available arm chair. Aki stopped to stand near Ushio and Carly.

They were all crammed in Crow's small living room, situated wherever there was free space either on a couch or some chair brought from the kitchen. Since Crow's apartment was the closest from the hospital and they didn't need any spectators they all decided to go there for Mokuba to explain what's going on. The doctors had some of their phone numbers to contact them in case Takashi comes to after the successful surgery.

"Okay…now that you mention it, it looks nothing like the Crimson Dragon," Crow remarked as he now thoughtfully stared at the carving of the Sky Dragon on Yusei's arm.

Yusei sighed while Saiga laughed, "Yeah, no shit Sherlock! How could you even think that it's the Crimson Dragon? It looks nothing like it!"

"Hey, shut up! I couldn't see all of it under the bandages!" Crow exclaimed.

"Okay, can we finally hear what Kaiba-sama has to say?" Mikage said, interrupting the bickering, "I'm sure he's got other important things to tend to but he's volunteered his time to help us out. Please begin, Kaiba-sama."

Mokuba smiled, fingering at the duel card locket hanging around his neck, and said, "Thank you, Mikage-san. I guess the story begins with Mutou Yugi winning the Battle City tournament and having the three God Cards. It was then that-"

"Wait, just who is this Mutou Yugi?" Crow interrupted. Everybody else looked just as confused.

Mokuba stared. "Are you people serious? You don't know who Mutou Yugi is? Is this a fucking joke?" he asked, his tone of voice revealing his shock.

All of a sudden it clicked in Yusei's head. Mutou Yugi. _Yugi Mutou_. Y.M. So was this Yugi Mutou the one to have sent him the letter containing the Sky Dragon? Who was this man? Yusei decided not to say anything at least not until he hears everything Mokuba has to say. So instead, he said, "Yes, we are serious. So why don't you enlighten us, Mokuba-kun," while trying to constrain his impatience and irritation. This Mokuba was treating them like fools and he didn't like it.

"Wow, just wow. Do you not have Internet here or something?" Mokuba mumbled, sighing in aggravation, "Okay, fine. Mutou Yugi was the original King of Games, the title which you, Atlas Jack, and you, Fudo Yusei, are both intimately familiar with."

"Not all of us have been educated in the histories of Neo Domino, just so you know. Not all of us have had that privilege," Crow remarked, attempting at an explanation for their apparent ignorance.

"This isn't really _history_, this was only 28 years ago," Mokuba answered.

"Yeah, _none _of us were really around during that time, if you know what I mean: the majority of us have barely hit our twenties," Crow continued.

Mokuba frowned. "I figured you guys were young but not _that_ young. At the very least I assumed that you would've been aware of _some_ history of the game that rules your lives. I guess I was wrong."

"Why does it make such a big difference?" Yusei prompted, staring at Mokuba with a cold look.

"Okay, so then…how old does this make you, Kaiba-san? Like fifty?" Rua questioned, still childishly oblivious to some manners.

"_Thirty eight_, thank you," Mokuba responded to Rua before looking at Yusei with narrowed eyes, "It doesn't make much difference, Fudo, you're right. The story still begins with Mutou Yugi. You see, when Mutou Yugi was sixteen he assembled an ancient Egyptian artifact which released a spirit of an ancient Egyptian pharaoh. From that point on, Mutou Yugi shared his body as a vessel with that spirit. You people probably don't believe that something like this could be possible but let me assure you that-"

"No, we believe you. Stranger and far more bizarre things have happened. This is cookies compared to some of the stuff we've faced," Jack interrupted. It was true. Driving on Razca lines towards an Aztec pyramid while dueling Rex Godwin on steroids was definitely something far more unbelievable and more fucked up.

"Alright, then this definitely saves the supernatural probability lecture. So the ancient Egyptian pharaoh was a master of Dueling Monsters, believe it or not. He and Mutou Yugi made an unstoppable team. They would switch, back and forth, as hosts of the single body and duel depending on the convenience," Mokuba said and paused, waiting for some questions before he'd resume.

"So…um…weren't they, like, two different people? How could nobody have noticed a dude change to a completely different dude halfway through the duel?" Rua inquired.

"No, the Egyptian Pharaoh looked almost identical to Yugi, thus the body alteration wasn't very noticeable: their voices were a bit different, and so were some of their facial features and some height but, overall, they were the same," Mokuba responded.

"Ah…huh…" Rua mumbled, incredulous.

"Wouldn't that be cheating? And who was the King of Games then, Mutou Yugi or that ancient spirit?" Carly asked.

"Ah, yes," Mokuba continued, smiling, "That was one of the questions that all of us have wondered at one time or another. That was one of the things that drove my older brother, Seto, up the wall. But more on that later. So Mutou Yugi and that ancient Egyptian pharaoh dueled together, defeating my brother who was, up until that point, the undefeated Duel Monsters champion, and going on to win countless tournaments. The Egyptian Pharaoh had no recollection of who he was or why he was here but we later found out that he was out to resolve a millennium long conflict. His name was Atem."

"_A-te-m_? You mean, Atum, right? Atum, after the Creator God and the God of Beginning in ancient Egyptian mythology?" Carly asked, attempting to piece things together.

"What? No, his name was _Atem_, and he was a pharaoh not a deity," Mokuba corrected her, shaking his head.

"A pharaoh was considered a deity then…" Carly whispered thoughtfully but nobody heard her.

"Anyway, so once Atem resolved his own conflict after kicking everyone's ass in a card game, he went back to his own time, that is, he finally died. After that Mutou Yugi, now without the help of Atem, resumed the duty as the King of Games and remained undefeated for another 10 years. And then he disappeared off the face of this Earth," Mokuba said.

"This is all very interesting, Mokuba-san, but what does this have to do with us or you, for that matter?" Aki finally spoke up.

"My brother, Kaiba Seto, was Mutou Yugi's greatest opponent. He was his antithesis. They could not exist without one another. Seto and _Atem_, that is. All the times Seto challenged Atem, Atem remained victorious. But then, once Atem had died, Yugi refused to duel Seto. You can see then how my brother had become convinced that it was only Atem that had been capable of defeating him, not Yugi. So for the next decade Seto challenged Yugi without success. And then when Yugi had disappeared, Seto searched for him for years without avail," Mokuba responded.

"That's kind of creepy…" Ruka whispered to Rua.

"Oh, so it that why the Kaiba brothers left Japan? In search of Mutou Yugi?" Mikage asked.

"Kind of. Seto sent me away to Sweden when I was twelve which was right after Atem had left. Seto told me that Japan was no longer a place for me and that he wanted me to have a different life. He forbid me to play Duel Monsters and to return to Japan. He wanted me to study Business in order to take over the Kaiba Corporation when the time comes. And then, ten years after and following his involvement in creating Duel Academies and his various travels around the world in search of Mutou Yugi, Seto returned to Japan one more time, for a few weeks, and then left for good. Nobody knows where Mutou Yugi is until this day or even if he's still alive. His companions either legitimately know nothing of what happened of him or are either dead or missing as well," Mokuba said.

"So…did Kaiba Seto really say "A city, to devour in its pain," just as he was about to depart?" Crow interrupted, curiously. An urban myth or the truth? Did Kaiba really predict the Zero Reverse?

Mokuba raised his eyebrows. "Seriously? I just told you, I was in Sweden! I don't know what Seto might have said! Although, if it makes any difference, this doesn't sound like anything Seto could have said, ever, and is probably completely made up."

"Oh," Crow said, looking disappointed.

"And what does any of this have to do with us, Mokuba-san?" Yusei pressed, impatiently, repeating Aki's words.

"Ah, yes. Patience is a virtue, Fudo. You see, I was supposed to be leaving Japan today but on my way to the airport I saw something that I couldn't believe: I saw the Sky Dragon of Osiris hanging in the sky. So when I followed to where the dragon was summoned, I saw _you_, Fudo Yusei, commanding it in a duel. Do you mind explaining what one of the three forbidden Egyptian God Cards and one of Mutou Yugi's most prized possessions is doing in your deck?" Mokuba asked, staring at Yusei with an inquiring look on his face. Everybody else turned to stare at Yusei, questioningly, too.

_Egyptian God Card? One of three?_ Yusei and Aki thought in unison, unaware of one another.

Yusei slowly got up from the armchair, closured the small coffee table in the middle of the crowd, and carefully placed on it the letter from Yugi Mutou and the Sky Dragon of Osiris Egyptian God card.

"I got this in the mail on the day of my birthday. When I opened the letter I got this nice new dragon mark on my arm. Make what you will out of it," Yusei said.

All of them now huddled around the coffee table, staring back and forth at the overpowered God card, the short handwritten letter and at the Sky Dragon's mark on his arm. Yusei noticed a very strange look on Mokuba's face.

"So…what does this have to do with anything, again?" Crow asked, scratching his head.

"Mutou Yugi…so he is alive…" Mokuba whispered, almost inaudibly, but Yusei heard it and he didn't like this. Mokuba then turned to look at him and blatantly asked, "Hey…so do you mind if I borrow the letter and the God card for a short while?"

_Not in a million years_, Yusei thought. "No, sorry but I don't think so," he refused, "This was entrusted to me for a reason, Mokuba-san, and I think that I should comply with Mutou Yugi's wishes." Yusei then quickly pocketed both the card and the letter, noticing Mokuba watching him with narrowed eyes and a bitter look.

"Mokuba-san, you mentioned that this Egyptian God card was one of Mutou Yugi's most prized possessions? Then, judging by the letter, he clearly he wanted Yusei to have it because he had chosen him to be the most suitable guardian for it. And it looks like the card has chosen Yusei as well as evident by the mark of itself it had imprinted on him. So I guess the bigger question is this: what does this have to do with _Sutekh Sacrificō_ duels we've been having, if anything at all, for what purpose did the Sky Dragon choose Yusei and how does Mutou Yugi even know of Yusei?" Aki asked, oblivious to the tension between Yusei and Mokuba.

Yusei looked at her at the corner of his eyes, feeling amazingly grateful. It was like she was reading his mind sometimes but speaking out in ways he wouldn't have been able to. _Use it as a means of protecting what you believe in… and the ones you love…_ Yusei thought, suddenly and inexplicably remembering Yugi's words in a letter.

"I've been asking myself the same question, Aki-san," Mokuba mumbled, still staring at Yusei, "While I have no idea about what the hell is going on with those blood circles and dueling suicides all over the city, and no idea as to what's going on with Yugi, what I _do_ know is this: Mutou Yugi or Atem as well as my brother and a few other select people were capable of using the three Egyptian God cards without any problems and without any of…the consequences Fudo appeared to have suffered."

"What are you saying?" Yusei asked, his eyes not hiding his anger. Was this guy saying what he thinks he's saying?

"I guess what I'm saying is that when a sixteen year old kid that looks like a baby panda can use _three_ Egyptian God Cards, at the same time, without bleeding and hurting then there is definitely a problem here. I don't think that you are a suitable guardian for Osiris, Fudo. If anything, I think you're a pussy," Mokuba said, smirking.

The usually cool and collected Yusei had to have Crow, Jack and Saiga grab him and hold him back because he was about to swing his fist at Mokuba's grinning mug. What the fuck was this!

"Mokuba-san!" Aki gasped, feeling disgusted.

"Sorry, Aki-san…I realize that the last part was uncalled for. But I am telling how it is, after all," Mokuba answered.

"Oh, so you think _you _would be more suitable to hold on to this card?" Yusei asked, angrily. Everybody else was just as enraged as him at the rude outburst.

"Actually no, no I don't. I am no duelist. But that doesn't change the fact that you appear to be the weakest owner of the Egyptian God card, by far," Mokuba remarked.

"If that's the case then why do _you_ think Yugi chose Yusei as the Sky Dragon bearer?" Aki asked, strictly. She was extremely upset. At this point she just wanted Mokuba to leave especially if he wasn't going to say anything else that's useful.

"To be fair, I have no idea, Aki-san," Mokuba said, turning to look at her, "But while Mutou Yugi was no fool, my own theory is that he succumbed to his own nostalgia: you see, Fudo here looks awfully a lot like Atem. They have similar fucked up hair, similar unusual eye colours, and, from what I've observed, they even act quite alike. Thus my theory is that Mutou Yugi gave Fudo the card for very superficial reasons: he figured that just because somebody looks a lot like the _real_ King of Games that they might possess the same skills. I think that he was very wrong."

"That's very nice of you to share, Kaiba-sama. You have told us some pretty useful stuff today. And now, would you kindly get the fuck out of my house? People that speak in such a way about my best friend are not welcome here. You're lucky I have enough decency not to break your neck here and now," Crow said, gritting his teeth, and looking seriously infuriated. Everybody else looked just as pissed off.

Yusei sometimes could not have been more thankful to have friends like this. They were the greatest people he could ever have hoped to be friends with.

Mokuba looked around the room, stopping his gaze on Aki, as if looking for some support. Aki frowned, unable to believe that he was hoping that she'd be on his side.

"As you wish, then. This was basically a waste of my time anyway. You guys are lucky to have learnt what I know today. I'll be staying in Japan for awhile now, there is way too many interesting things going on to leave, so if you'd like to find out more then you better come with something valuable to offer," Mokuba concluded, sighing, and exited Crow's apartment.

Everybody stood in silence until the door closed and Saiga instantly muttered, "Wow, what an asshole."

"Seriously. I guess being a billionaire gives you an excuse to treat people like doormats!" Ruka exclaimed, "Are you okay, Yusei?"

"It's fine. He's just got something against me for some reason. I'm guessing his brother's bitterness at Mutou Yugi passed on to him as well," Yusei said, shrugging uncaringly. Honestly, this was way too pitiful to be upset about and he no longer cared.

"I think you're right, Yusei. He seemed very excited to find out that Yugi was still alive somewhere. I think he wanted to use the letter and the card to find him," Ruka added.

"I wonder if Kaiba Seto was as much of an asshole as Mokuba…" Rua mumbled under his breath, not speaking to anyone in particular.

"Well, while we did learn some interesting things, we haven't really solved the mystery of the _Sutekh Sacrificō_ duels that have been happening around the city and the La Magra monster which becomes real as a result of those duels," Aki pointed out.

"Yeah, that's actually why Mikage-san and I are here," Ushio spoke up for the first time during the whole gathering, "Over the course of two days, there were _twenty three_ duels which resulted in supposed suicide attempts. From what you and Yusei have told us on the way here, they weren't suicides but, rather, murders."

"Murders!" Aki gasped.

"Yes, murders. Actually…it's kind of both. From what we've seen with the Investigation unit, _both_ the losers and the winners of the duel lose their lives if the duel takes too long. But, the thing is, there _are_ survivors but only if they were the ones to have initiated the duel and only if they had won _and_ if they were taken to the hospital on time to mend their wounds. The loser of the duel dies right away from inflicted severe internal bleeding. Yusei and Aki are actually the only known ones to have won the duels against the initiators," Mikage reported.

"So…what you're saying is that this _Sutekh Sacrificō_ duel is actually of no advantage to anyone? That death is almost inevitable in this case, both to the duelist who's in possession of this power and to the duelist being challenged? Then why do people agree to this power and how does it find them?" Aki asked, anxiously biting on her bottom lip.

"If you remember, Aki, both of the people to have challenged us were completely _convinced_ that the duel will be in their favour, that their revenge will be fulfilled, and that only the loser will pay with his or her life," Yusei speculated, "And then once the duel was won, they were back to normal? I think that somebody or, rather, _some thing_, is preying on these people and manipulating them into thinking that whatever animosity or bitterness they have, regardless of the seriousness or silliness of the cause, that all of it can be settled with a blood duel."

"Then whatever this is it's giving these poor people some pretense notions that everything can be solved with a duel and then gives them a strange power and a powerful monster to achieve these means through death?" Aki asked.

"Yes, except that the people that agree to the blood sacrifice in order to possess La Magra and to destroy the other person don't realize just how much they're putting their own lives in danger, regardless or not they win the duel…" Crow spoke out thoughtfully.

Everybody fell silent, feeling a chilling sensation of horror travel down their spine.

"...Then, what is it that could be manipulating the people of Neo Domino into doing this? What could gain so much from such cruel deception? And what could gain so much from these duels and from blood sacrifices from _both_ duelists?" Aki whispered.

Carly drew in a deep breath. "I think I know," she suddenly said.

All eyes were on her now. Carly was holding a palm pilot in her hand, apparently having done some quick research just now. She looked pale.

"I looked up the phrase you guys were repeating over and over again. That _Sutekh Sacrificō_ thing. _Sacrificō_ literally means "sacrifice, to," in Latin. And _Sutekh_…it's another name for Set, the Ancient Egyptian God of Darkness and Chaos…So, _Sutekh Sacrificō_ literally translates to "The sacrifice to Set, the God of Darkness," Carly said quietly.

The room stood in shocked silence once again. Nobody knew what could be said.

Finally, Crow cleared his throat. "So what you're saying is…that an Ancient Egyptian God of Chaos is roaming free in the city and getting people to kill themselves for his own amusement?"

"Looks like it," Jack replied

"Fun stuff," Saiga said, "You guys just can't catch a break, can you?"

Yusei and Aki stood there with grave expressions on their faces. It all made sense now. La Magra was a servant of Set, manipulating people into thinking that they have an unstoppable monster which, in reality, uses them as a way of feeding the Dark God. To live up to his name, Set was probably doing this to perpetuate chaos among the Neo Domino people. And here was the Sky Dragon of Osiris: Osiris, the brother of Set, a God capable of defeating Set. Yugi Mutou appeared to have known that all of this would happen and thus had lent the power of Osiris as a means of defeating the Dark God. At this point Yusei actually sympathized with Mokuba: he, himself, wouldn't mind finding this Yugi and having a talk with him.

The only thing that didn't make sense was the mark of Osiris' dragon on Yusei's arm. Why did it appear? If it appeared because this dragon chose him, as Aki hypothesized, then why did it choose him to begin with? And why did he experience such pain commanding this dragon? According to Mokuba, nobody else has had this problem before. Yusei wondered if there was something different about him, and only him.

"I guess that asshole Mokuba telling us what he knows wasn't so bad after all," Crow pointed out.

Yusei nodded and picked up his ringing cell phone.

"Now we must find the means of informing people about this and somehow stopping this pandemic," Aki whispered. She looked to Yusei for support.

Crow opened his mouth to say something else when Yusei hung up the phone and said, "Takashi is awake. I think it's time we found out what it's like to be on the other side of this affair."

* * *

_I know…I know…I'm such a tease. But you know what, I promise that next chapter they will make out. I really mean it – I already have a rough outline of the next chapter in my head and they definitely make out in it. _

_So fingers crossed!_

_But this chapter was important in covering the plot and explaining what (might) be going on in this fanfic. I hope you liked it. At the same time there was no dueling this chapter and that made me very happy – I don't like writing duels, ugh. _

_So for next chapter: will we find out how Set finds his victims? Will we find out what Takashi has to say? Will some boring duel happen? Will Aki and Yusei finally tell each other how they feel? Will Yusei play the Egyptian God Card again? Will Mokuba go away forever (I hope he does)? Will Yugi Mutou make an appearance? _

_Stay tuned and you (might) find out!_


	10. Chapter 9: The day the world stood still

_Author's Note:_

_This is Chapter 9 of "The Kingdom [be]Comes"! _

_Ughhhh…this took so long to write. I just couldn't figure out what direction I wanted to go in. And then when I finally thought I figured it out it turned out too angsty. And then I fixed it and it turned out angstier and stupider. And then I fixed it again and blahhhh… so this is what I settled on after a lot of fixing and rewriting: there is __**some **__plot exposition, there are no duels (thank god), there is quite a bit of talking, and yes, there is angst but there is also romance. _

_And this may also be the chapter that Aki and Yusei finally kiss.  
_

_Or it may not be._

_Hmmm…I guess you're going to have to read and find out…or not. _

_I hope that you like this chapter and let me know what you think!_

_Thank you for reading, for reviewing and for sharing your thoughts and also for pointing out typos! I hate typos because I'm really trying to master the English language so this is a very helpful feedback for me. _

_So, once again, thank you and enjoy!_

_**NineInchNailed.**_

_**UPDATE**__: This chapter had undergone some big changes (starting somewhere in the middle) on 18/01/11. It's still pretty emo.  
_

_

* * *

_

"_**Go for it now. The future is promised to no one." **_

_~Wayne Dyer_

_

* * *

_

Takashi was sitting up on his hospital bed and absently tugging at the irritating itchy bandages on his wrist.

Yusei was standing over him with his arms folded while Aki sat at the foot of the bed. They were the only two allowed in the hospital room so everybody else was waiting outside. There were three more beds in the room, occupied with the only other surviving duelists of the blood battles. They were all still unconscious.

"So, Takashi-kun, can you tell us what happened? Do you remember anything?" Aki asked gently.

The boy sniffed, lifting his large teary eyes to look up at Yusei. There was not a trace of the psychotic and maniacal behavior left in him: Yusei and Aki were looking at a scared and traumatized 14 year old kid. They even spoke to his mother, who agreed to wait outside with others, for a permission to speak to him.

"I was a bit upset after losing the duel to you, Yusei. Well, a lot upset. Although I do believe now that I may have kind of deserved it, especially after damaging your girlfriend's bike…" Takashi mumbled, wiping his runny nose with his sleeve. Aki blushed so hard at the girlfriend comment that she barely had the ability to concentrate on the important story. Yusei, meanwhile, barely even noticed that Aki was being referred to as his girlfriend mostly because of how natural and almost "obvious" that sounded. It was like, duh, of course she's with me, why else would she be hanging out with me?

Neither of them corrected Takashi, however. And both of them noticed the fact but attributed this phenomenon to the necessary captivation with Takashi's revelation.

"So I wasn't really thinking…I was very angry and kind of embarrassed. So my friends left, after making fun of me for…challenging the King of Games…and I stayed behind. And then…the weird thing happened," Takashi paused, wiping away at his eyes now with his stained sleeve.

"What weird thing?" Yusei prompted, handing Takashi a handkerchief.

"Thanks," Takashi accepted the napkin and then, biting his lips, he continued, "This is going to sound like I'm crazy but I'm not! Basically I heard this voice ask me, "_Do you want to pay him back for what he did_?" and it was inside my head. So at first I actually thought I was actually going crazy but the voice continued, saying, "_Because you can pay him back, you can do anything you want, and I can give you the means of making your dreams come true_." Or something like that. I don't know why I said yes – I didn't believe this, you know? I guess it was just curiosity, the "what if?" and then…I only remember snippets. I remember the voice very well but after that, I only remember flashes of the duel…and then I remember being on a bike, some bright light…and then I woke up here."

"And do you remember feeling anything? Any emotions? Any sensations?" Aki asked.

"Um…I remember the feeling of absolute elevation. It felt like I could do anything, like I could fly, like I could squash you, Yusei, like a bug…or something like that," Takashi concluded, looking down.

"Is that all you remember, Takashi-kun?" Yusei asked.

"Yeah, that's all," Takashi nodded, wiping at his eyes again, "I'm really sorry, Yusei. I never meant for this to happen. I've always looked up to you."

"If you're okay then that's all that matters," Yusei said with a smile and reached to ruffle the boy's hair, "But if you do remember anything else then do not hesitate to give us a call, okay?"

"Hai," the boy smiled in return. It was then that Takashi's mother came in and asked all of them to get out, and they hurried to do just that.

"So have you learnt anything?" Jack inquired when Aki and Yusei came out of the recovery room.

"Quite a bit but nothing that really changes what we've already figured out," Aki replied.

"Anything at all is good enough. Are they keeping all the surviving duelists in one room for observation?" Yusei asked, addressing Ushio and Mikage.

"Yeah, they aren't sure how stable any of them are and since they've all come with the same cause the doctors figured that keeping them all together is more reliable," Mikage answered.

Crow sighed, rubbing his tired eyes, "Okay…now what?"

"Divide and conquer," Aki responded with a smile, "That's what we're going to do."

At 10:00am the following day, Yusei, Jack and Crow mounted their D-Wheels and raced for hours across Neo Domino city and the adjacent neighborhood of Satellite across the bridge in search of more sacrificial duels. They travelled to the obscure gang-ridden alleys in Satellite and upscale, prestigious neighborhoods of Neo Domino. And then they did the opposite, checking the high risk districts in Neo Domino and well off middle class neighborhoods in Satellite. They travelled far and wide and they found nothing.

It was at 7pm that the three guys were standing at the second floor of the busy Neo Domino mall and watching, bored and worn out, as the crowds passed by below. Where else would a God of Chaos strike malice if not at the busy chaotic mall occupied by impatient, hormonal and loud teenagers?

Apparently they were wrong. Nothing was happening here either.

"At this point I actually wouldn't mind catching one of Set's duels," Crow mumbled, yawning wide.

"Don't say that. People not getting hurt is a good thing, don't you think?" Yusei said, leaning on the railing and still absently watching the colorful sea of people on the first floor.

Crow grimaced at him, turning to look at Jack and Jack just shrugged, muttering, "Whatever," and pulling out a pack of cigarettes and a lighter.

"Jack, come on!" Crow exclaimed.

"Here?" Yusei asked, incredulous. Smoking wasn't permitted in malls or barely anywhere, for that matter.

"Shut up, I only do this maybe once a week," Jack mumbled, putting a cigarette in his mouth and flicking the lighter.

Yusei sighed, snatched the cigarettes and the lighter out of Jack's hands and pocketed them, much to Jack's annoyance.

Ten more minutes passed and Crow let out yet another aggravated and impatient sigh, "Ugh…this is so boring! Didn't Ushio say that there were twenty or something duels reported in a day or so? Did all of them just decide to stop overnight?"

"Maybe somebody tipped the pissed off God that we're onto him and so he decided to recuperate?" Jack suggested.

"That's possible," Yusei agreed.

"Okay, then I'll call others and tell them to call off the scavenger hunt and just come meet us here," Crow said, dialing Saiga's number.

As they were waiting for others to arrive Crow and Jack decided to entertain themselves by counting the number of all the hot girls they'd see. In about five minutes Crow had twenty, while Jack had three.

"What can I say, I have high standards," Jack answered when Crow pointed out a particularly painted-up girl.

"Or you're just gay," Crow chuckled.

"Yes, clearly," Jack sighed.

"Yeah, Carly's just your beard. It all makes perfect sense! Anyway, how many hotties have you counted, Yusei?" Crow asked.

"None," Yusei replied completely indifferently. He was lost in his thought and wasn't even looking at anybody to begin with.

"Alrighty…" Crow uttered, raising his eyebrows and looking at Jack questioningly. Jack just shrugged, again.

Crow looked back at the crowd and then, five seconds later, exclaimed, "Oh my god! Check her out!"

"Nice…" Jack mumbled, ogling her as well.

"Wow, she's so hot!" Crow continued, "Yusei, look!"

Uncaringly, Yusei looked to where Crow was pointing and still he couldn't see anything, "Where?"

"Right there! What are you blind? The one with long blonde hair!" Crow exclaimed, practically falling over the railing as he pointed to the attractive girl.

Yusei still couldn't pick this super special awesome chick out of the crowd. Honestly, they all looked the same to him. But then, all of a sudden, he noticed dark red hair in the sea of yellow and brown and his heart yanked longingly in his chest. "The one with red hair…?" Yusei asked dreamily.

"Huh? Dude, that's like her _mom_, what the hell? I'm talking about a blonde right next to her. What wrong with you, man?" Crow stared at him with absolute bewilderment.

Yusei realized that the person he was looking at wasn't the person that he was hoping to see and quickly looked away. "My bad," he mumbled.

"Geez…talk about low standards," Crow mumbled with a deep sigh, saying it like Yusei was a lost cause, "But man…she was so hot. God, I think I just popped one."

Unnoticeably, Jack and Yusei moved a bit further away from Crow.

"Yeah, I know…" Crow went on and sighed, "But give me a break. It's been like three weeks since I last got laid. I'm like dying, man."

"It's been less than a day for me…" Jack said quietly, grinning.

"Well of course, you've got Carly. Ugh…show off!" Crow grimaced and then turned to Yusei, blatantly asking "What about you?"

Yusei's definitely been more private about this matter than Jack and, especially, Crow, but he imagined that, being his best friends, they would have been able to figure out the timeline by now. But apparently they have not.

After debating between "none of your business," and "fuck off," Yusei decided on telling the truth. "Almost two years, I think," he said.

"Still?" Crow gasped, staring at him with an appalled expression, "I thought that you've dealt with this by now! Especially the last time we all went out? Seriously, what's wrong with you, man? Are you dead from the waist down or something?"

Yusei stared at him with irritation. He then noticed that Jack was also looking at him like he was a leper.

Yusei opened his mouth to tell them off when he heard a silky feminine voice calling out, "Hey, guys!" and, instantly recognizing it, he looked in its direction. He saw Aki and twins Rua and Ruka entering the mall and waving at them as they began making their way up to the second floor. He lighted with a smile, instantly forgetting all about Crow and Jack.

"Oh, you've got to be kidding me…" Crow mumbled as he stared from Yusei to where he was looking, "Is that it? _Still_? This just isn't funny anymore."

Yusei stood up straight from leaning on the railing and turned to face Crow, "If you've got something to say, Crow, then let's hear it."

"Okay, fine. You've had, what, two years to make your move? And what happened? Oh, yeah, you didn't. And, from what I've heard, now that the poor girl has finally tried to move on – because we all know just how much she liked you, for some reason, all this time – you rush in to crush all her attempts by dangling some false hope in front of her. Seriously, man, just _let it go_," Crow preached.

Yusei stared, completely taken aback. He was not expecting this at all. He noticed Jack staring at him with the same accusing look that Crow was giving him. Yusei gritted his teeth, once again seized with irritation. What do they know? They know _nothing_.

"Why, so that you can make a move?" Yusei asked, quietly and yet almost threateningly, subtly cautioning that Crow did _not_ want to wander further into this subject matter.

"Actually yes, why not? At least I'll be able to tell her, straight out, that I'm either interested or not, rather than continue pulling her on a leash to appease my ego," Crow persisted, frowning.

Yusei narrowed his eyes. This was the first time that he's felt such hostility towards one of his best friends. Yusei was thankful for his superlative self control, however. He barely ever snapped. And an aura of silence was always far more intimidating and demanding of respect than inane screaming on top of one's lungs.

"Because this has to be about an ego, right? It can't be because I may actually _like _her, right?" Yusei said slowly, dropping his voice to a barely audible level.

"Oh, we all know you like her, Yusei. But that's not what this is about," Crow said with a deep sigh, as if it was so obvious.

"Then enlighten me, Crow," Yusei responded. This was going to be interesting to hear, that's for sure. He really wanted to hear which conclusion the all-wise Crow has reached.

"How about the fact all of us, including you, know that you _won't_ make a move, Yusei? Because we all know that to you there is nothing more important than friendship and ridding the world from evil. Because that's the burden and the responsibility that you've been chosen to take on and that you've had to accept. And thus, all your life, you will do everything in your power to save everyone and everything. And you won't risk anything to lose your friends. That's just how it is, Yusei. This is how you are and that's how you've always been, and that's how you _always_ will be. And "romance" - especially romance which has a potential to endanger your friendship - will never be of any priority to you. So why this is such a mystery to you right now is beyond me. I'm sorry, man, but come on! You - _you_ of all people – should know better than to play this girl because she's not _just_ another girl, she's Aki and she's our friend, and as friends we must take care of one another. That's always been your motto, has it not?" Crow finished and took a deep breath after that rant.

For one of the few rare times in his life Yusei was speechless. Completely. He was just staring, eyes wide, at Crow. It felt like Crow had just shouted all of that on top of his lungs and for all of the world to hear. It felt like he was just psychoanalyzed and where all of his deepest and darkest secrets became public. He opened his mouth to retort but nothing came out. He felt lost and actually kind of distressed. He felt like he was completely exposed and everybody was staring.

And then, in a matter of seconds, he felt powerful rage consume him. He now felt the angriest that he's probably ever been. But not at Crow, no, but at what Crow said. Was he that obvious? Was he an open book? Did everybody know him better than even he had known himself? Or was it because his eyes were forcefully pried open to reality and to the truth? Or maybe it was the fact that every doubt and uncertainty he's had over him and Aki had just got reaffirmed? So being alone is his destiny? Is that how it has to be? He didn't sign up for this! And apparently everybody else knew about it but he himself didn't get a memo! It also looks like Aki didn't get that memo either…were they waiting for him to tell her himself?

Yusei suddenly felt smothered with the realization of the burden he was carrying. This was clear to him when he was entrusted with the head mark of the Crimson Dragon and when everyone depended on him in defeating Rex Godwin when the city was about to crumble down. Or in saving the city when the Arc Cradle showed up. It seemed that he would always have to be the one taking care of others, and he was being hit over the head with this message not only by their enemies and the tragic circumstances of his life, but now by his own friends!

Yusei felt like life just punched him in the face and then kicked him when he was on the ground. He looked down at his feet, unable to see anything, blinded with emotional disarray.

He barely heard Aki's, Rua and Ruka's voices speaking right next to him and barely felt the big hugs from the twins. He was completely numb, on the inside and outside.

Aki, meanwhile, felt ecstatic. Takashi was alive and well, there were no innocent people getting tricked and hurt today and then there was Yusei. Oh, Yusei. She was still floating on clouds from the time they had almost kissed and from when he kissed her tenderly on the forehead. She could still feel Yusei's warm lips on her face, a sensation that had kept her tossing and turning in her bed all night long. She felt dreamy and dazed and she couldn't stop smiling. For the first time, in so long, she felt almost certain that he liked her in return and she felt so carefree and wonderful. And she knew that there could never be anybody like him and that she could not settle for anybody else but him. She would never be able to attempt moving on from longing for him, as she tried for these few bitter months, especially since her heart or her body wouldn't permit her to.

"Hi, how are you?" Aki asked Yusei, smiling brightly at him, and reached out to touch his arm. But Yusei ignored her greeting and, without even looking at her, jerked his arm away from her and turned to greet the approaching Mikage, Ushio, Saiga and Carly instead.

Aki stood there wondering if she said something wrong or if she did something she shouldn't have. But she decided to just shrug it off, simply assuming that Crow and Jack irritated him or something.

"I assume none of you stumbled on anything out of ordinary either, right?" Yusei inquired.

"Yeah, absolutely nothing. We kept in touch with the Investigation Bureau and Public Security for the whole day and there were no cases of those sacrificial duels reported _anywhere_ around town. It's like the enemy is taking a day off," Ushio responded.

"We figured that Set must have found out that we're onto him and thus decided to rethink his strategy. That seems plausible enough, right?" Crow asked, stretching his arms behind his head.

While everyone was sharing theories and guesses, and after contributing some of their own, Aki and Carly snuck away a bit further from the gang under the excuse that they were going to get everyone some pop drinks. In reality, Aki had phoned Carly earlier on, asking if they could talk.

"So, what is it?" Carly asked curiously as they stood in a long line-up for drinks.

"Um…okay," Aki said, drawing in a deep breath and trying to suppress her instantly blushing face, "So like…um…say a hypothetical situation. So a guy kisses you on the forehead, right? What does that mean in guy's language? Does it mean anything or is it more like a friend thing?"

"Somebody kissed you! Oh my gosh!" Carly exclaimed, thinking for a moment before offering her hypothesis, "Um…um…okay, it's very rare for any guy to do that, I think. It's just…not very typical. Usually they'd try to go for the mouth or for the boobs or something. But I think that it's kind of an endearing thing…or something. But my guess would be that he likes you quite a bit."

"Oh-okay," Aki smiled, looking down at her feet, feeling even more excited and happier than before, if possible. Her blush was now permanent on her face.

"So who kissed you? Who? Who?" Carly squealed excitedly.

Biting her bottom lip and barely containing her bright smile, Aki whispered, "It was Yusei…"

To Aki's outmost surprise she saw Carly's smile vanish faster than the speed of light.

"Oh…really?" Carly uttered, staring at Aki with concern.

Aki swallowed a knot in her throat. "What's going on? I thought you'd be happy for me! Didn't you just say that what he did was an expression of affection?" she asked, feeling her good mood plunging down.

"No…I am…but…we've had this conversation before, Aki. We concluded that he's leading you on… remember? That he just doesn't care to want anybody? It's just how he is, remember?" Carly whispered, touching Aki's shoulder gently for support.

"Yeah, and you and I were saying the same thing about Jack and look how that turned out!" Aki murmured, feeling incredibly disappointed. Here she was, so happy and ecstatic, and her best friend had to come in and ruin everything!

"But Jack didn't string me along for two years, Aki. He only stringed me along for a couple of months …and if _Jack_, of all people, finally decided to act on his feelings, then why doesn't Yusei?" Carly asked carefully, looking at her friend with compassion.

Aki stomped her foot angrily, "You're wrong! So Jack sets the bar for acceptability now? You just…just don't get it!" She wasn't really thinking at this point, and not comprehending that Carly, having been in a similar situation as her, understood her better than anyone.

"No, Aki…I just...I just don't want you to get hurt, alright? And you've been hurt for so long over this. I'm sorry, I didn't mean for this to have come off so badly," Carly said softly, apologetically reaching out to give her a hug.

Aki breathed in to calm down and gave Carly a hug in return, "It's okay, I got a bit wound up too. Just forget I said anything. Nothing happened."

They returned to the gang with a bunch of pop drinks which were practically inhaled by Crow, Saiga and Rua, and then all the friends decided to make their way out of the mall, especially since it was closing in fifteen minutes. Aki tried walking next to Yusei but he was ignoring her existence completely and at that point she wasn't even sure if he had even noticed that she was here today. Slowly but increasingly she felt pain tugging at her heart. Something was wrong and it was making her feel ill.

"Keep in touch in case something comes up," Yusei said, speaking one of the few times this whole evening. Everybody else nodded. And then, inexplicably, he turned to Aki and their eyes met for the first time today, "Come with me, Izayoi, I'll fix that broken up taillight and then you'll be on your way home in minutes."

Aki flinched. Izayoi? Why was he calling her like this? He hasn't referred to her by her family name ever since they've become friends, and he's only addressed her by her first name since. It felt like he was deliberately distancing himself from her. She felt lost like a puppy. "Okay, Yusei," she responded quietly, forcing a smile.

Crow cleared his throat, saying, "Yusei…um…"

"It will be finished, Crow. You've got nothing to worry about anymore," Yusei responded grimly, a cryptic message which only Crow and Jack were able to understand.

Crow stared back at him, thoughtfully it seemed, and then, to everyone's mystification and Yusei's immense irritation, he jumped on him and gave him a huge hug for no reason whatsoever.

"You'll thank me for this later, man," Crow mumbled so that only Yusei could hear, and then promptly released him with his signature smirk on his face. Yusei glared at him, angry and annoyed. Seriously, what the fuck? What made Crow think that it was okay to give him a hug, especially _now_, and especially after their conversation earlier this evening?

Yusei decided that the best thing to do is would be to say nothing. So instead he put on his helmet and mounted his D-Wheel, waiting for Aki to do the same. And then once Aki exchanged her goodbyes and started her D-Wheel, he sped off in the direction of his house knowing that she would follow him unquestioningly.

They arrived by his house in about fifteen minutes. He unseated his motorcycle and wheeled it into his garage, silently motioning for her to do the same. Aki obediently complied and once they were inside he turned on the light and pulled down the garage door.

"This will only take a minute," he told her, not even looking at her, and brought out his tool kit, crouching by her D-Wheel.

"Okay…" she whispered, nodding rigidly, and stepping back from her bike. She was frantically trying to remember if she had said anything that had made him upset with her. Because this didn't make any sense, especially after all the lighthearted fun they had yesterday, and after how close the two of them have gotten over these few days.

Collected and cool on the exterior, on the inside Yusei felt like he was drowning. He was bitter and angry, so unbelievably angry. He hated everything. He hated the air he was breathing because it felt like he was breathing smoke. If everybody was about to die he wouldn't have cared. He would have gone down with all of them, almost willingly. How was he expected to save the world from some Ancient God of Chaos if he cared little to none at this point?

Although consumed in his mental devastation he was still quite aware of the horrible tension in the air right now. And he knew that he had to say something, perhaps let Aki know that this was an impossible situation. It was only fair. Crow was right – she _was_ his friend, and she meant to him more than anyone, and he was hurting her with his indecision.

"Listen, Aki. I need to be honest with you…and to tell you that I don't think that it will ever happen," he said quietly, still avoiding looking at her. He tightened the last screw on the replacement light and got up from the ground, dusting off his hands and knees. It really did take a minute.

"_What_ don't you think will ever happen?" she asked for clarification, her voice almost inaudible. She was staring right at his back, silently urging for him to face her.

Yusei drew in a deep breath and turned around, his cobalt blue eyes looking directly into her amber ones, "You and I."

Aki felt something collapse deep inside of her. There would never be enough words to describe the agony she was feeling at that moment. Perhaps it was because her mental pain was so strong that her brain mistook it for severe physical injury and pumped out an insane amount of endorphins. Maybe that's why she was feeling so empty and numb on the inside. Or maybe it was because she just died and her hell was cobalt blue.

There was nothing to say. Like a ghost she lowered her gaze and walked up to her fixed D-Wheel, carefully brushing off some dust from her seat and picking up her helmet, getting ready to leave.

It was almost like watching all light evaporate from her eyes. Yusei had never seen her look so lifeless. He felt horrible. He couldn't let her leave, not like this.

"No, Aki, wait. I'm sorry… it's just-" he started saying as he grabbed her arm to stop her when he was disrupted mid-sentence by a hard slap to his face.

"NO!" she screamed, violently jerking her arm away from his grasp, "No! Don't you dare touch me!" She could never have imagined that there would ever be the day when she would _actually_ slap Yusei and when he would so rightfully deserve it. How dare he say something like that to her and then attempt to console her by _touching_ her?

Well, she wasn't lifeless anymore. Yusei stared at her, stunned, although he maybe should have been able to predict this type of response. He also figured that he might have deserved this slap.

"What's wrong with you, Yusei? I would really like to know: are you bipolar? Or maybe a psychopath? That's it, right? You're a psychopath? Because only a psychopath would do things like this!" Aki screamed. Her eyes were burning and threatened to water any second.

"Aki…" he started, once again reaching for her but she slapped his hands away.

"No, I mean it: don't touch me," she retaliated. Getting stabbed repeatedly would probably hurt less than being touched by him now. "I mean, what else can it be? One moment you're all into me and another moment it's like I don't even exist. Is this something that you're into or something? Pulling me on a leash?"

"No, that's not it, Aki!" he responded, raising his voice, now frantic to have her hear him out, "I'm telling you that I didn't mean for this to happen, I-"

"Oh, of course you didn't mean it, Yusei. How could I expect you to mean anything at all?" she interrupted him, not actually willing to engage in any further discussion with him. She reached down and quickly grabbed her helmet from the ground but, before she had a chance to put it on and get out of this horrible place, he snatched it right out of her hands.

"No, stop," Yusei demanded as he kept the helmet out her reach, "You're not listening to me!"

Aki stared at him in desperation, unable to believe that he was now trying to keep her from leaving. "Why _should_ I? So you can tell me just how you feel bad for leading me on because you were just messing around and didn't think that I'd take this seriously? I don't need you to tell me this anymore, Yusei. I…_finally _know this," she said, choking up, and looking away. Tears were stinging her eyes now but she refused to let them fall.

"No! I wasn't leading you on, Aki, I would never do something like that. Especially not to _you_," he attempted to explain, forcing himself to keep trying to regain the eye contact with her, no matter how difficult it was for him to look at her right now. "I truly wanted for this to happen and recently I _have_ been trying to make it happen…but…I finally understood that it can't…it just can't."

Aki bit down on her bottom lip with all her strength, nearly drawing blood, to keep herself from wailing out loud at another round of his words. He was so horribly selfish, so beyond cruel…and so _sadistic_. Aki never thought that she'd ever think this way about Yusei, of all people. So, from what he'd just said, he actually wanted to go out with her for awhile now – which explained how close they have gotten these past few days – but then, up until what sounded like a couple of hours ago, mysteriously decided to bother no longer? All this meant to her was that he never even remotely felt the same for her as she felt for him. She would have done everything to be with him…everything…and he wouldn't even give her a try. Clearly he never really liked her to begin with and was only trying to play it off under some cryptic nonsense rather than what it really was.

This was agonizingly hurtful and Aki felt so much worse than had he actually admitted that he was just joking around with her.

"Why not, why can't this happen? _What_ happened?" she whispered to herself and quickly wiped away the few hot tears that managed to escape her, feeling humiliated. She hoped he wouldn't notice that she had just shed some tears for him and feel some sort of pity for her. She was so weak and pathetic, how could she be so pathetic? For being rejected by a guy? These kinds of things happen to people every day. If they could get over it then she could too - and, maybe eventually, be able to see him as her friend again and _only_ as her friend.

Yusei heard her inaudible whisper and felt like his lungs had fallen in. He felt beyond awful now. What made it even worse was that he wanted nothing else than to reach out to her, to embrace her, and to tell her that he didn't mean any of that and that they should finally be together now. No, what was _much _worse than that was the fact that he _had_ to refuse this option and that he couldn't really reveal to her what Crow had made him realize.

He was momentarily at a loss of words and during that time Aki spun around and finally gathered the courage – mostly fueled by anger – to face him. She locked her eyes on his and saw nothing in them; his expression was completely unreadable to her, as always. Aki balled her hands into small fists. She didn't know if he was really _that _guarded or if it was just her own unfortunate inability to read even a simple emotion about him. However, how was she expected to do _anything _like that correctly if everything that happened these past couple of days, everything that she interpreted as signs of mutual attraction, were apparently only _lies_?

Aki took a deep breath. "I think I'm done. I think I'm _finally_ done," she said slowly, having gathered inner strength to control herself from either throwing a couple of punches at him or from curling into a fetal position and sobbing. Her words were a mental declaration to herself as much as a declaration to him. "I would like to leave now, please," she concluded, trying to be as polite and as detached as possible until she could get home and cry until no oceans in the world could match her tears. She impatiently reached for her helmet which he still held in his hands, hoping that he would at least be kind enough to oblige with her wishes and just let her leave once and for all.

Yusei stared at her and, after taking a few moments to contemplate her request, he decidedly shook his head. Instead of giving her the helmet he crossed the distance to his tool shelf and simply put it up on the highest ledge he could reach and which, he knew, she wouldn't be tall enough to get herself. He refused to let her leave on these terms. He valued the bonds with his friends – and _especially_ with her – far too much to permit them to be on such verge of disintegration. And he needed to make her understand his reasoning as much as he could without actually revealing the bottomless darkness of himself.

He turned to face her and saw the absolute shock on her face as she watched him. "Aki, please try to understand why," he began to say as he walked back to her but stopped when he was at least a metre away, "I just…I don't think that I could be able to take it if you could get hurt because of me. I…it's just that I don't think I can protect everyone."

Aki was suddenly consumed with anger. At this point she was sick and tired of all that mysticism and all those cryptic responses. How dare he attempt keeping her here and then offer her anything other than a coherent explanation? "What does that even _mean_, Yusei?" she snapped, unable to comprehend how he expected her to understand him if he wasn't saying anything tangible, "You're worried about me getting hurt, for whatever reason? Well, then…why can't you see just how much you're hurting me _now_? How could you possibly be so oblivious?"

Yusei felt like she had just slapped him again.

"The way I see it," Aki went on, unable to decipher the sorrowful expression on his face, "Is that you just didn't want to be with me which is why you didn't even _try_. Because if you really _wanted_ for this to happen then you would have_ fought _for it just as you fight for everything you deem worthy, Yusei. I mean, what else can it be? How _hard_ is it to walk up to me and just ask me out? You can't be _that _dense, Yusei, if you didn't always know what my answer would be! " she said and took in a shuddering breath, turning her back to him. She needed to hide her eyes that had just relentlessly filled with tears again. "But it's fine. I get it now and you don't have to bother explaining anything," she concluded, her voice breaking. _You just don't really like me like that and I finally know this…please don't say anything anymore and just allow me to leave. Please, stop torturing me and let me go once and for all_, she thought, heartbroken.

An unnerving silence ensued during which Aki could only hear the deafening beating of her heart. She couldn't figure out why he wasn't saying anything and involuntarily wondered if he had somehow left the garage without her noticing. She decided she'd take another five seconds before she would attempt making her leave again, with or without her helmet or his permission. Five…four…three…

And suddenly he spoke up as if he knew about the secret countdown in her head.

"I deem this worthy, Aki," she heard his barely audible whisper.

Aki found it subtly amusing just how unbelievable something like that sounded coming from him. It was almost unnatural. Absurd, even.

"I wanted to be with you, Aki. No, I…_want_ to," Yusei whispered again.

Aki felt an abrupt painful yank in her chest and her heart began fluttering in delight. She instantly forced herself to suppress that thrill, however, and simply shook her head to his words. She could not _permit_ herself to believe a single thing he was saying anymore: allowing herself all this false hope would be borderline masochistic.

"I…care…so much for you," he went on, his voice nearly failing at this confession.

Another violent jolt of her heart that felt like a beginning of a cardiac arrest. Drawing in a deep breath, Aki twirled around and saw that his eyes were now intently locked on her.

"And had it been as simple as that then I would have asked to be with you years ago. Just as soon as I have met you," Yusei continued, his voice louder and steadier now as he tried to convey the truth in his words, "But it was _never_ simple. And I can't fight for something that I just cannot bring myself to risk." He paused at that point, averting his eyes for a few seconds before gathering the courage to face her again, "Just how can I possibly do this?" he questioned, "Just how can I possibly risk…you?"

Aki froze and swallowed a knot in her throat. "Yusei, I don't understand," she repeated her confusion again, her heart beating so fast that it threatened to break through her chest, "How would you be risking me? Besides that, you should know that _all_ of life is a risk. You took a risk when you ran from the Satellite. You took a risk when you escaped prison. And you sure as hell took risks in defeating the Dark Signers and the Yliaster. I don't understand…I just don't understand what you're trying to say."

Yusei felt as if she was painfully pulling at the inner layers of his heart. He didn't know how he could possibly tell her more. Telling her more would mean disclosing the hopeless truth Crow had made him realize about himself. And if he goes on…if he tells her more…then it would reveal his darkest secrets, his deepest insecurities, his most permanent flaws…

And she would then see all those dreadful things about him.

For years now, Yusei was torn with doubt over whether Aki really liked him for who he was or, rather, who she _thought _he was; if she only liked the idea of him – as someone who offered her unconditional support, protection and friendship when she needed it – and if she had ever seen him as beyond that. And if, until now, she only saw him as an idealized image…then she would never look at him the same way after this.

But as he gazed upon her now and noticed the pained glimmer of her eyes, he knew that _after all this time _she deserved to hear the truth. That she deserved to know that she was never the problem for his indecision – because to him she was perfect – but that all this was a result of his own ill-fated existence. And by telling her this he would then finally know the genuineness of her feelings for him.

It was either now or never.

He drew in a deep breath and began uncovering his very soul to her, word by word. "Because…what if this would make you a vulnerable target for our enemies?" he asked quietly, forcing himself to keep looking at her, into that stunning amber of her eyes which often looked at him with such admiration...and which now seemed so faded and _wounded_ because of him. "Aki…too often has the fate of the world rested on my shoulders. Too often had this weight ingrained itself into my conscience, too often had everything depended on me. If I slip…if I make a mistake…if something happens, then how could I cope with knowing that I have let everyone down? That I had screwed up, that I wasn't able to protect someone? I value nothing more than my bonds with all of you…you know that. But I don't think I am capable of protecting everyone," he couldn't face her anymore and had to look away, feeling beyond exposed. "And then…what if I won't be able to protect _you_? I don't think I will be able to bear it especially if something should happen to _you_ because of me," he finished and edgily waited for her response, convinced that the whole world could probably hear the rapid thunder of his flawed heart.

He could not tolerate any failure of himself. He could never forgive himself for any mistakes he'd committed. He could never forgive himself for letting anyone down.

He wasn't always confident and he didn't always know what to do.

He often felt weak. Lost. Despaired. Hopeless.

And without his friends he'd be nothing. _Nothing_.

For a couple of eternal seconds Aki was staring at him, completely mute and in deep state of shock, simply unable to process what he had just told her. She had forgotten all about her tears which she didn't even realize had completely gone away. She felt heavy with all the meaning and implication in his words…there was just too much to take. How did he expect her to respond to that? _What_ could she possibly say to that? Not only did his confession reveal that he apparently placed her quite high on his care list…but that he bore some hidden painful thoughts and deep-seated issues, as well as a heavy burden which she sadly didn't realize he carried or that they all had unconsciously placed on him.

Looking at him now Aki felt a grief-stricken tug at her heart. But not a grief over herself and her own sadness but over _him_. And now, despite everything and despite her agony of his earlier rejection of her…she just wanted to embrace him, to tell him that everything was going to be okay. But she wouldn't dare touch him, no matter how much she wanted to: she just couldn't, even if there couldn't have been a more appropriate time than this.

"Yusei…you are suffering," Aki whispered. It was an observation. A fact.

Yusei flinched and closed his eyes, unable to look at anything at all anymore.

"You don't always have to be so strong," she continued, wishing he would look at her, "You don't always have to protect and to save everyone. It's okay to make mistakes because that's life and the only way to learn _is_ from our own mistakes. And nobody expects the impossible from you…but should they have to, then you are _not_ alone – you have all of us, Yusei. _All of us_ share this weight with you. _Together _we will help you achieve the impossible and you will _never _have to do it alone. You know that the bonds between us are forever," she said. Through her own mental hurt she saw his suffering, the suffering he appeared to have suppressed for all of his life and the heavy burden he'd been chosen to carry: the burden of destiny, of the world, of the stars, of the gods…

Yusei continued listening to her while keeping his eyes closed and now holding his breath. His life was being turned upside down. Everything was going to be different now, one way or another.

"The whole world is not your responsibility alone, Yusei. Only your life is," Aki continued, "You don't have to protect everyone," she repeated and then paused, collecting her thoughts. "And you _especially _mustn't feel like you have to protect _me_ from anything," she added with an invisible smile, remembering that he said he worried about failing to protect her, "I'd like to think that I'm pretty grown up now and could probably stand up for myself."

The moment she was done speaking, Yusei drew in a deep shuddering breath and sighed, feeling like something heavy and incomprehensible had slowly broken away inside of him and made way for boundless feeling of ease. He knew then that the permanent scars of his soul had been erased one by one with each word she spoke. The painful words of Crow were pushed out of his mind not to return again. He suddenly felt like he could breathe air again. For the first time since this evening, he felt like he could breathe _freely_.

She was right and she understood him. She understood everything so well and so unfathomably better than him. By saying all of those things, she had just offered him the support and consolation he didn't know he needed. She helped him realize just how lost in the fog he had been and how much he truly needed her.

He knew then and there that he should have trusted in her unconditionally. Because she always cared for him and he always stupidly determined that as a sign of something shallow. He knew that he should have opened up to her a long time ago. And not doing so all this time might have been one of the biggest mistakes of his life. All this time…wasted.

Yusei opened his eyes and locked her in his stare, feeling desperate longing. He wanted to… no, _needed_ to touch her.

Aki waited for him to respond to her words for another few moments but just couldn't stand the silence and decided to address another part of his confession, the one which specifically referred to her and the one which, now irreparably, ingrained itself into her consciousness. "But, um…Yusei, you also mentioned that you were worried that this would make me a v-vulnerable target," she suddenly began to stutter, barely able to compose herself, "What…why would all that…I mean, I just don't…how would that make me _different_ from everyone else we know? How would you be taking a bigger risk with me?" She had a distant and hopeful feeling that she knew what he might have meant…but it was impossible for her to be certain. _Not_ after he had told her that they couldn't be together just earlier on. And, at this point, if he wanted her to really take something to heart, he needed to _say_ it or probably even spell it out.

But, either way, it couldn't be. It just couldn't be. She figured that he would probably say the same thing to all of his friends. That's just how he was: he felt for all of them equally and he made each one of them feel special and singled-out whenever he spoke to them or even looked at them… So that's what it was, right? He would feel the same way if Crow or Ruka or Rua were targeted by their enemies versus her, right?

Yusei stared at her in disbelief when she asked him those additional questions. How could he say more? Wasn't his confession enough? Wasn't it _obvious_ by now?

He nervously looked away from her and another tense silence fell upon them.

Aki directed her gaze to the ground, feeling beyond uncomfortable and suddenly exposed. Her relentless heart continued jerking and scrambling in her chest, making her feel weak and breathless at this point.

"Yusei, say something," she whispered, needing to hear some kind of a response after everything that she had just said and asked him. She didn't know if any of her words had any impact on him or if she should say more. And she didn't know if she should attempt leaving again and if he would finally let her. "_Anything_," she borderline pleaded.

Another couple of seconds passed with nothing happening until, all of a sudden, in her peripheral vision she saw his form move and then begin to near her. Aki quickly looked up to see what he was doing but, before she even had a chance to react, he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her to his chest. Eyes as large as saucers, she stared ahead right over his shoulder while he enclosed her in his arms and let out a deep sigh against her neck.

"Thank you," he said and Aki could barely keep herself from trembling at the sensation of his hot breath on her skin. The garage wasn't cold and neither was she…but his whole body was so warm, so impossibly warm.

"Thank you," he repeated and the next thing she felt was his embrace becoming tighter and then his hand cradling the back of her head as he pulled her even closer to him, "For helping me realize the right thing. For helping me see how wrong and confused I was. And I'm sorry that I had hurt you in any way, Aki."

Somehow saying something like _You're welcome_ seemed like the worst and the most inappropriate thing to say right now. "Yusei…" was the only thing Aki could mumble in bewilderment. For the second time he's ever hugged her, she was completely frozen in place, shocked and confused as to what to do. The only difference was that, despite all her anger with him earlier on, this embrace was anything but undesirable.

"I've never been good with words," he continued saying while holding her securely in his hold as if afraid that she'd push him away at any moment, "But…I meant what I said. You _are_ different, Aki. I…I feel differently for you than for anyone else."

Aki gasped and stiffened even more so in his arms, her mind racing. "Differently…as in…_good_ differently or…?" she mumbled naively, unable to think of something more coherent or something more reasonably clever because being so close to him now and after the chaos of the past hour, all did a number on her reasoning.

Yusei felt her tense and couldn't help a sad smile at her question. "What do you think?" he asked.

"I-I don't know what to think," she whispered truthfully, "I just don't know. And I don't know what to believe either...how can I?" She felt beyond confused and on the spot. Why did he have to feel so warm? Smell so good? Aside from the fact that he rejected her earlier on, how did he expect her to know an answer to anything or even _think _in this situation? As far as she knew he might be saying that he thought they were better friends now or something.

Yusei understood by her response that he had to be more direct and that it wasn't fair of him to expect her to read between the lines. And being that he was never very open verbally or even moderately emotionally expressive made him realize that this was not going to be easy. But he was going to try.

"If I ask you to trust me that what I say next is the absolute truth, then will you? Aki, will you _believe _me?" he requested.

"Y-yes," Aki nodded shakily and closed her eyes, trying to keep herself from getting goosebumps over his breath tickling her ear whenever he spoke up. This intimate proximity with him completely clouded her mind and twisted her emotions.

Following her answer, Aki felt his arms loosening around her and, less than a second later, he broke their embrace. Her eyes instantly snapped open and she saw him, standing back so he could look at her, his eyes pierced into her. Aki stared back, momentarily stunned because she noted that there was something different in his gaze. Something she didn't think she'd ever seen before. It was almost as if…tenderness. She realized she was uncertain if Yusei was even capable of expressing such a thing or if he was and she was just one of the unfortunate people never to have received it…until now, it seemed.

Yusei fought to have his courage stay as it threatened to begin abandoning him at any moment. "Aki, then know now and once and for all," he began, "That for a long time you've meant more to me than…anyone..."

Aki simply stood motionless while gaping at him wide-eyed.

"There is nothing I wouldn't do…for you," he peeled off his gloves and reached to gently touch his hand to her cheek, causing her to wince, "And I'd do anything to be with you now, Aki. _Anything_. But only if you're still willing to give me a chance."

There, he finally said it. Yusei felt like a wave of ease washed over him...just to be replaced by a nerve-wrecking jittery turmoil in his chest as he now waited for her response.

Aki resumed just standing there and staring at him. Numbly, her reason began warning her of the possibility that he could be lying…but it was then that Aki fully understood that Yusei was never dishonest. He could keep things hidden but he would always make it clear in that case and he never lied about anything. And…somehow, she felt that as if for the first time ever she could _really _read him. He seemed so open to her now, almost transparent…by the way he said all those things, by the way he looked at her… And when he asked her to trust him, she did. She always and unconditionally trusted him and it appeared that there was nothing that could ever change that.

Aki then realized that she was on the spot now and, aside from feeling flustered, she began to feel lost. What could she do now? What could she say to him? Follow her heart's wishes and confess that she felt the same and that they should be together now? Or was it better to refuse him for a meanwhile and ask for some time to think?

"Don't cry," Yusei suddenly said and Aki realized then that hot tears were freely streaming down her face.

"Oh god," she mumbled in embarrassment and hastily reached up to wipe them, unable to look at him anymore. She had fought against them for so long, refusing to let him see her so vulnerable, but it was out of her control now.

But then she suddenly felt his hands cradling her face and gently tilting under her chin so she had no choice but to look at him while he began wiping her tears.

"Don't cry," he repeated softly when their eyes met and for a moment the only thing Aki could see was the clear cobalt blue of his eyes and feel the warmth of his hands on her face. They were slightly rough and calloused, expectedly the result of constantly working on engines and being able to fix everything, and yet…his touch was so gentle.

And then the shock completely released Aki and she nearly melted. She draped her arms around his shoulders and nearly fell into him in an embrace, burying her face into his chest. For a split second in time she felt him tense, as if he wasn't used to such abrupt display of affection, but he quickly relaxed.

"Yusei, you're not messing with me, are you?" she mumbled in disbelief, trembling. This was what she had always wanted to hear from him…what she had always dreamt of hearing…but somehow so much better, so much sweeter. "Because if this is a joke..." she began but trailed off, failing to utter some kind of a weak threat out of which, of course, nothing would ever come.

"No," Yusei smiled lightly and shook his head. He then enclosed his arms around her waist and simply held her.

Aki just nodded dumbly into his chest and allowed herself to be held like this by him. She was so thankful that he just let her do this, that he comforted her like this. For the first time the silence between them felt easy and not the heavily saturated sexual tension it always was. But that did not last long, however. Less than a minute later of basically cuddling with whom was none other than Yusei, Aki realized the situation and abruptly became self-aware.

She broke their embrace and took a step back, feeling lightheaded and like everything was moving too fast. Too much had just happened and there was impossibly much to process. "I'm a mess," she whispered in embarrassment, her face bright red. She suddenly realized what a disheveled state she must be in after all the crying and screaming, and quickly reached up to wipe at her eyes again and to fix any possible mascara mess.

Yusei observed her silently, disagreeing with her completely. She was perfect, how could she not see it? How could she ever see herself as anything but beautiful?

Aki proceeded to smoothing her hair with her fingertips when she saw him move closer to her and wondered what it was what he wanted now when she suddenly felt his gloveless hands framing her face again. She quickly looked up at him, borderline alarmed by the intimacy, and, before she had a chance to realize what was happening, he leaned in impossibly close to her and closed his eyes. A millisecond later, Aki felt his lips gently pressing against her own and at that point she stopped breathing. She kept her eyes open, just staring in her shock at his closed eyes and the jagged marker on his cheek.

This was the second time she's ever been kissed. And there was no lustful urgency in Yusei's kiss like she had previously experienced in her first…his was so tender. His lips were warm and slightly wet.

Yusei just held his mouth against her soft but immobile lips for another couple of seconds and then pulled away.

Aki's gaped at him dazedly, unblinking, unable to do anything else.

"I'm so sorry," Yusei instantly offered his apology, barely able to retain the eye contact. He felt like he had just done one of the craziest things in his life: somehow, the messed-up WRPG battle against Aporia infused with a D-Wheel completely paled in comparison. "It's just it's something I always wanted to do…and should have done a long time ago," he whispered, fighting to stay composed despite the fact that his heart was racing at what felt like the speed of light. And while to him this felt like something that sealed the deal and the truth… Yusei realized that it was too early and probably quite inappropriate of him to have done this. Especially since she hasn't yet given a complete indication on whether she wanted them to be together now. He didn't know if she wanted to take it slow and keep some distance for awhile, before going out with him first and then kissing him.

And then, all of a sudden, he heard an almost inaudible whisper from her. "Yusei, again…"

"What?" Yusei asked, completely astounded. He _had_ to have imagined that. Still, he was unable to keep his eyes from traveling down to look at her red lips.

"Kiss…me again," Aki whispered and, this time, Yusei heard her without a doubt. Without another second of hesitation Yusei leaned in again and captured her lips in another kiss, his hand threading in her hair as he pulled her closer to him. Aki's breath left her once again but, this time, she closed her eyes and parted her lips to his kiss, hesitantly vining her arms around his neck. This time her shock had been washed away to be replaced by wonder.

Yusei was the one to break it again, however, not knowing if the second kiss was a fluke and if she didn't want more, and fixed his eyes on hers. His face felt like it was on fire and, noticing the sudden bright red tint on her cheeks, he guessed that she must be feeling the same.

Aki felt so dizzy and she didn't know if it was the result of the kiss or because she had unconsciously held her breath the entire time. "Again," was the only thing she could say, unable to get enough, and this time she took the initiative by standing up on her tiptoes and kissing him.

Yusei barely held back a hoarse groan from escaping him at the tempting feeling of her mouth on his, and kissed her more urgently, this time letting his tongue delve into her mouth to deepen the kiss. He breathed in at the contact, tasting her… she tasted so fruity. It wouldn't surprise him in the least if it was not the result of some lipgloss. Aki gasped and responded to him as burning lust erupted through her and she wanted nothing more than to feel him and to feel his now apparent desire for her in his kiss. Somehow, her right hand found its place at his chest and Aki could feel his heartbeat beneath her palm, to her astonishment realizing that it scattered and rushed similar to her own.

Her moment of awe was ruined when Yusei suddenly broke the kiss again and Aki almost cried out in protest. He had to stop doing that!

"Sorry, if I'm too fast and you want to take it slow it's more than okay and I underst-" he started saying but was muted by Aki's lips crushing into his, engulfing his mouth in another fiery kiss. At that point Aki had completely lost it in near frenzy. All the two years of pent-up longing really did a number on her and she simply greedily latched onto him.

_Wow_, was the only thing Yusei could think.

"No," she mumbled against his lips, "No. It's fine. Just…just_…more_." She then jumped to wrap her arms around him and accidentally ended up pushing him back against the tool shelf with quite an impact.

"Ow," Yusei grunted, distantly hearing the melodious jingle of the falling bolts, screws and nails, some of the lighter of which (thankfully) fell on his head. He couldn't have been more grateful for not having stocked up the upper ledge with wrenches or motorbike parts.

"Oh god, I'm so sorry!" Aki quickly began apologizing, feeling mortified, and instantly stopped her unsuccessful attempt at a kiss. She felt like she was beyond clumsy and inappropriate and had just screwed up all her chances. "Are you okay? I'm so sor-"

Aki's shy and embarrassed apology was drowned mid sentence in his kiss when he grabbed the back of her neck and pulled her right back to him. Aki let out some kind of a soft noise and responded to his kiss, feeling his arms encircling her again.

_More, more, more, more_, was the only thing Aki could think.

_Finally this is happening_, was the only thing Yusei could think.

They continued kissing each other in complete abandon and Yusei didn't know at which point he ended up pinning her against the wall but all he knew was that he wanted to keep tasting her like this and feeling her as closer as he could. Aki's hands held his neck and his own hands kept moving from her hair, to her face, to her waist, as if he couldn't make up his mind, while they were borderline plastered against one another.

And never could Aki even conceive that kissing Yusei for the first time would end up like this: with him pushing her against the wall and basically devouring her. She completely was astounded because Yusei always seemed so…calm and controlled. She could never have imagined that he'd be this passionate…and it was beyond hot. She always thought that their first kiss would have been after their first or second date where he'd walk her home and then give her a soft kiss goodnight. And then, dates later, they'd progress to something like hesitant making out… But this, _this_...was so heavy and so zealous...and she _loved_ it. She had never before wanted anything as much as this, _him_...

...Neither of them knew how much time had passed but, after what felt like a sweet and aching eternity, they ended up sitting on the dusty garage floor, looking flushed and slightly disheveled. Yusei was sitting back on his knees while Aki was comfortably seated on his lap, her legs wrapped around him, and absently played with his hair. Once in awhile, they'd exchange kisses, ranging from tender and playful to passionate and consuming.

This time, Aki gently brushed her hand over his left cheek, suddenly transfixed by the smoothness despite of the jagged criminal mark which she thought would feel like a rough scar. It seemed almost as if it blended in with the texture of his skin, becoming indistinguishable. She didn't know much about the process of acquiring such a thing or how it was incised but she imagined it wouldn't be too pleasant.

"What was it like?" she whispered as she still gently grazed her fingertips against his cheek, "Did it…hurt?"

Yusei turned his head to look at her and his eyes met the depthless amber. He realized that it was the first time that anyone's ever asked him about the marker. It was always something either accepted by all as an integral part of him or was part of an unspoken understanding between him and any of his marked friends. He felt strangely touched by her interest.

"Definitely not something I'd recommend," he answered, deciding not to delve too much into the unpleasant memory lane.

Aki understood the implication of that answer. "You've been through so much…" she whispered sadly and leaned in to feather her lips over his marked cheek.

"As have you," Yusei said, closing his eyes.

Aki found herself blushing. She never before thought about her years as Black Rose Witch as equivalent to what he had been through but, as he brought it to her attention, she realized the similarities the two of them shared.

"What took you so long, Yusei…" she whispered, once again finding the confirmation that he was the one she had always wanted, "I've almost lost hope… oh, how you loved torturing me…"

"I tortured myself," he answered quietly.

"And why?" Aki pressed, closing her eyes as she breathed in his scent, almost shuddering in ecstasy.

"Because I thought it was the right thing to do or, rather, not to do… and because I figured that it wasn't affecting you as much as it affected me," he whispered and let out a sigh.

"And what did you finally decide on as the right thing to do?" Aki found in herself the confidence to tease him.

"Actually I just decided to make it up as I go. Seems reasonable enough, don't you think?" Yusei asked, pulling back to look at her with a sly smile.

"Yes," Aki nodded, kissing his lips tenderly, "Yes…because…uh…reason is the root of all passion."

"Doesn't it go "the law is reason, free from passion"?" he reminded as he gently sneaked the tip of his tongue into her parted lips.

"I think that, in _this _case, I like my version better," she murmured before returning the French kiss, and wrapping her arms around his shoulders to pull him closer.

It was closer to three in the morning when the two of them finally got ready to call it a night. Yusei was tempted, powerfully tempted, to ask her to stay over…but he knew better than to do that. So he would oversee that Aki gets home safe by driving with her.

"Yusei…can you do something for me?" Aki asked as she smoothed her mysteriously rumpled clothes and stopped next to her D-Wheel.

"_Anything_," he promised passionately, implying that it would always be the case. He watched her every move, wishing that they didn't have to separate for the night.

Aki smiled, feeling embarrassed. "Could you…take down my helmet for me?"

When they pulled up to Aki's mansion, she wheeled her D-Wheel into the luxurious six door garage and ran back to him as he sat waiting on his motorbike.

"Ano…Yusei…are we really doing this?" she asked, shuffling her feet nervously, forcing herself to keep looking into his darkened eyes.

"We're going to try, Aki," he replied quietly, reaching for her hand and pulling her closer to him, kissing her goodnight, "We're just going to have to try. I think it's about time that we did."

Yusei then arrived back at his place well past three o'clock, feeling absolutely ecstatic and practically euphoric, not a sleep in one eye. He couldn't wipe the smile off his face. He and Aki…they were going for it. They were finally going for it. And he honestly didn't give a damn about all the consequences or all the doubts that he had about this before. There was nothing that could stop this anymore. It was meant to be.

He was standing at his front door and going through his pockets in search of keys when, having found the keys and stumbled on the nasty pack of Jack's cigarettes and Yugi Mutou's letter, he realized that something was missing.

Yusei's smile evaporated as he felt like he was dunked into ice cold water:

The Sky Dragon of Osiris god card was gone.

* * *

_Yeah, this was a very long chapter. But on the bright side, Aki and Yusei finally made out! YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY! Phew…finally. I mean come on, they couldn't possibly tolerate any more of that sexual tension before they'd explode!..._

_Okay, deep breath._

_So, for next chapter: Will we see more Aki and Yusei making out? Or will they dare take it up a notch? Will more blood duels happen or will they, inexplicably, stop happening? Will we find out what happened to Yusei's God card? Will the God card be gone for good? And can anybody guess who might have taken it? _

_Stay tuned!_


	11. Chapter 10: Fallen heroes

_Author's Note:_

_Here is Chapter 10 of "The Kingdom [be]Comes"! _

_**A few updates to previous chapters: **__so I decided to add a small __**quote **__from various people/movies/books/songs etc., at the beginning of each chapter. The quote either summarizes the general idea of the chapter or reinforces the message (if there is one). So each chapter now has a quote (right after the Author's Note) right at the beginning. _

_Okay, now about Chapter 10: the beginning may seem quite a bit random and unrelated to anything but I wanted to flesh out a few characters and add some character development and conflicts for future chapters. Also, some humour because the rest of the chapter is kind of angsty. _

_Huge thanks to __**Gemini Chaos**__, __**FanficFemale**__, __**MoonlightLotus18**__, and __**Fabrefan**__ for being so awesome._

_Thank you for all your thoughts, ideas, reviews, concerns, questions. _

_I hope you enjoy this chapter!_

_**NineInchNailed.**_

_**

* * *

**_

_**"Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts."**_

_~Winston Churchill._

_

* * *

_

It was closer to 4am that Crow stumbled out of 24/7 coffee place, exhausted but cheerful. Sometime after emo Yusei and sexy Aki left together Crow got a phone call from Sherry LeBlanc who, having just arrived back to Japan, was inviting everybody to go out with her to a lounge.

"I miss you all so much, can we hangout right now? We have a lot to catch up on," she said over the phone.

After sending off the underage (and very disappointed) twins home, the age appropriate group (minus Ushio and Mikage) went to Blanche, a lounge chain based in France and which incorporated Renaissance and Medieval themes. No wonder Sherry liked this place enough to suggest it. Or maybe it was because she was this place's co-founder.

"You made it, guys," Sherry smiled, getting up to give them hugs. The stunning blonde wore a dangerously low white corset which revealed her ample cleavage, a pair of skintight jeans and a pair of white high heeled pumps. She looked like a million dollars, as always.

"And these are my friends from France – they tagged along for a road trip when they found out I was visiting Japan," she said, pointing to a bunch of bored people who took up half of the VIP booth, "This is Dominique, Pierre, Richard, Mirabelle, Gerard and Depardieu. I'm afraid they don't speak a word of Japanese."

"Great!" Saiga and Crow cheered as they ogled the two French girls.

They all sat down and Sherry gestured at the numerous martinis and pitchers of beer. "Eh?" Sherry gasped when Crow refused the drinks, "You don't drink? How can it be?"

"Don't drink and drive, remember?" Crow said, grinning as he winked at her. Saiga and Carly, meanwhile, jumped at the free opportunity.

After some binge drinking time had passed, Sherry slowly asked, "So…why didn't Yusei come?" Her tone of voice betrayed the casualty she was trying to convey - it was obvious that this question's been eating at her ever since they walked in. "I called him a few times and he didn't pick up… I take it he doesn't want to see me."

"No, he's just under the weather today, that's all," Jack said and Crow nodded, watching the group of girls in sexy dresses at the table across from them with drool coming out of his mouth.

"I see…oh, what about Bruno and that girl, Izayoi Aki, why aren't they there?" Sherry continued asking unceremoniously.

"Bruno just sort of comes and goes now that the four of us are no longer living at the Poppo Time garage. And Aki left somewhere with Yusei," Jack replied again.

"Oh, I see…" Sherry mumbled, taking a sip of her martini. She paused for good measure and then asked, as casual as ever, "So are Yusei and that Izayoi Aki under the weather _together_ now? Not that I care, of course."

Jack sighed and Crow facepalmed.

"No, Sherry, no, they're not. They're still just friends," Crow was the one to answer this time.

"Okay," Sherry smirked as she stared off into the distance. She then downed the rest of her martini and grabbed one of her girlfriends, pulling her to the dance floor.

"Seriously, does every girl we know want to sleep with Yusei?" Crow complained when Sherry was nowhere to be seen.

"Fuck if I know!" Jack retorted.

"Whoa, a scoop! …Sherry-san likes Yusei? Tell, tell, tell! What happened? Why does he not want to see her? Did something happen between them? Did they have something at some point?" Carly asked rapidly, eagerly sipping at her green apple martini.

"No," Crow and Jack quickly answered in unison, exchanging a knowing look.

"Okay,_ anyway_," Saiga said, redirecting back to Crow's topic, "We only know like…five girls and that's counting Martha and Ruka-chan…so I dunno man… Why do you care though…are you jealous or somethin'?" He gulped down his fourth glass of beer.

"Yeah, kind of, actually! I mean he's got all these hot chicks constantly drooling for him…I mean, who wouldn't want that? I mean…what does he have that I don't? Is it his complete asexuality? I mean, he's more likely to fuck his D-Wheel than he is to fuck any of them! So is that what appeals to women nowadays or something?" Crow muttered while thoughtfully looking over at the only French girl left at the table.

"Fuck if I know!" Jack repeated.

"M-maybe it's because he wears short-sleeved shirts more often than you do…so that…shows his arms or somethin'…and he wears blue and that compliments his eyes…or somethin'…" Saiga slurred.

"How does that even make any sense?" Crow snapped.

"Ugh, you guys are so clueless!" Carly blurted out drunkenly, still apparently eavesdropping on their discussion and apparently having forgotten all about the Sherry discussion. Her glasses were a bit crooked and her bra strap was hanging off her shoulder as she leaned over the table. "You guys just don't get women! It's all so obvious! Like, for one, Yusei is always totally aloof and unattainable so that's a total magnet right there… Also, like, he's super smart, knows exactly what he's doing, has that bad boy image but he's also got a heart of gold. And, like, the fact that he's very hot doesn't hurt at all."

Jack stared at Carly with an annoyed expression and Carly, blushing, quickly added, "Not like I, personally, find Yusei attractive at all. Atlas-sama is the only one I could ever like!"

"Hmph," Jack looked away, folding his arms.

"Hey, what the…what, are you saying that I don't have all that?" Crow protested, thrusting his thumb at his chest, "I, Crow-sama, have all of that and more! Especially the bad boy part, the heart of gold and the good looks!"

Jack snorted and Crow smacked him in the back of his head, "Shut up!"

"Did you just hit me, Jack Atlas!" Jack shouted, scrambling up on his feet.

"That's what you get for making fun of me!" Crow snarled in return.

The two of them stood growling at each other when Sherry suddenly returned and pushed them apart. Surprisingly, for such a slim and beautiful woman, Sherry was remarkably strong. "Break it up, you two, you're drawing attention. What did you get so wound up about anyway?"

"Nothing," Crow muttered, grimacing at Jack, and sat back down. Jack followed suit, sitting down next to Carly, and folded his arms, looking pissed.

Sherry sighed, taking a place next to her other friends and all of them starting to jitter in French, drinking their martinis and cocktails.

Some more time had passed with occasional conversations, dancing and non-stop drinking for everybody but for Crow and Jack. Saiga, having drunk even more so, noticed Crow still staring at the snobby-looking girl at the table and leaned over to mumble into his ear, "Okay, man…why don't you just try out that "aloof-unattainable-heart of gold"-Yusei approach and see how it goes? I mean…what do you have to lose?"

It was extraordinary how much more sense Saiga made when he was out of his mind wasted versus when he was a little tipsy.

"Okay, you know what? You're right! Why the hell not?" Crow nodded and pushed Saiga out of his way so he could slide over and sit next to the French girl. For the life of him he could not remember her name.

"Uhh…hi! Um…jamay-pelle Crow," he spoke up in the most broken French the only expression he knew. "Uhh…and…uhh…and you?" he asked, awkwardly gesturing some made up sign language to her.

The French girl looked at him for the first time from under her black framed glasses, and then raised her chin, looking away.

"Enchanté," the girl mumbled, looking bored and annoyed.

"_Ashanti_? Your name is Ashanti? What a pretty name!" Crow exclaimed.

Carly, Saiga and Jack burst out laughing while Sherry flipped her long blonde hair and said, "Don't even bother, Crow. Let's just say you're not her type."

Crow thought for a second and then decided that it was time to apply Saiga's advice in action. He changed his facial expression to a grave frown and then seriously said, "Damn it, Sherry! You've got to pull yourself together! Or have you not heard about our new enemy? I was trying to let your friend aware of the potential danger of being here. The more every single one of us is knows of the danger…the more there is a chance of surviving this... together." Crow then thoughtfully looked somewhere far off, into the distance, and added sadly, "Sometimes… sometimes there just no time left for anything. Not even _love_ … when the fate of the world rests on your shoulders."

"Oh, Crow…" Sherry whispered, reaching out to touch his shoulder, "I didn't know…you have to tell us everything." She then turned to her friend and quickly translated what he had just said.

Thirty minutes later, when Carly was passed out over Jack's lap and Sherry and her friends were bored of lounging, Crow and _Ashanti_ began making out in the darkest corner of the booth. There were some slobbery sounds.

"I can't believe that worked," Saiga mumbled, now all sobered-up, as he watched the make-out session in front of him with a combination of disgust and fascination.

"Believe me, _that_ generally works," Jack retorted, the obvious expert on "aloof-and-unattainable" method, and stood up, pulling unconscious Carly with him, "We're leaving. Keep in touch if something comes up. It was nice to see you, Sherry."

"It's time to leave anyway, this place closes at 3," Sherry yawned and got up as well. "We'll keep an eye out for those strange duels but let's hope that the whole thing just blew over. It was nice to see you, guys."

Crow and _Ashanti_ ended up going to a 24/7 coffee place across the street to resume their silent making out and it was around 4am that Crow decided that it was time to call it a day.

"You are so great, Ashanti…hey, if you want to continue this further, especially today, then I'm totally up for that. What do you say?" Crow was asking as he was holding the French girl's hand, his face flushed and grinning.

The girl just smiled at him, pulled out a pen and doodled her phone number on his hand, not before leaning up to kiss him on his cheek, "Au revoir, mon chéri. On s'appelle."

"Totally," Crow said, having no idea what she just said but her phone number was more than an indication.

They parted temporary ways after Crow suggested – by awkward signing – that he could drive her to her hotel but she refused, opting for a cab instead. Humming happily because he had gotten to second base today (and completely unplanned too!) Crow walked, almost skipping, to where he parked his D-Wheel. When he finally got there, he was stopped dead on his tracks: there was somebody waiting for him.

It was a very pale tall man, appearing to be in his early twenties, wearing baggy grayish clothes. His tousled white hair almost blended in with his skin and further accented the man's dark, almost black, eyes. The part that probably astonished Crow the most was the fact that this guy was leaning against Crow's D-Wheel like it was his business!

"Yo, what the hell? What are you doing with my D-Wheel? Who are you?" Crow inquired.

"Two days ago, a servant of an Egyptian God - The Sky Dragon of Osiris - took flight for the first time in 28 years. I have been given a mission to find out who it is that summoned it and if the Great Pharaoh has returned to the land of the living to restore the Great Balance," the man said, his voice very low and strangely disinterested, "Now, the word on the street is that the famous Team 5D's and their sidekicks has been quite involved in this subject matter: since you are an important member of 5D's, Hogan Crow, then you probably know who the current owner of the God card is. Why don't you tell me who it is so I can be on my way?"

Crow gritted his teeth. There was no way he was going to give out Yusei to this petty minion. And he also wasn't going to let him go without a fight.

"What makes you think that I would tell you anything at all? Who do you think I am? And I won't let you go through me without a duel. Why not show me what this awesome power of Set is all about?" Crow provoked.

The pale guy waved his hand at him, "I'm not very interested in wasting my time. This isn't what my mission is about. Why don't you just wait until some suicidal and bitter kid comes after you? If people are given the means of achieving their revenge, no matter how petty the cause, then there will always be someone coming after every single one of you. You might as well come to terms that Neo Domino will destroy itself, one way or another, this day or the next, and that there isn't much any of you can do about it. Set is just giving people the freedom they always wanted. He's making this world right. He will become the God of Kingdom Come."

"What is it that you're rumbling on about? You want a reason to duel me? Fine! How about this?" Crow asked, pulling out the Sky Dragon of Osiris card out of his pocket and showing it to him, "_I _summoned this dragon that day. Now, do you want to duel me for this card so I can kick your brainwashed ass?"

The pale guy stared at the red God card in Crow's hand, then stared back up at Crow's face, and a wide grin crossed his features, "Ah, yes. I am interested now." The guy then moved away from Crow's D-Wheel and activated his duel disk, "This won't be a Riding Duel, Hogan Crow, so pick up your duel disk."

Crow mixed the God card into his Black Feather-based deck and approached his D-Wheel, equipping the duel disk onto his arm, "You seem to be quite acquainted with me. Is there something I should call you besides You-Brainwashed-Son-of-a-Bitch?"

"Since it's such an honour to finally meet the Chosen One I think it's only proper that I should introduce myself: you may call me Mahdi," the man responded.

"Alright, _Mahdi_. Let's duel!" Crow exclaimed.

"Duel," Mahdi smiled, slowly pulling out a knife and digging it into his arm.

Yusei woke up exactly at 6am due to the obnoxious ringing of his alarm clock. Needless to say he didn't get any sleep tonight, not even for these three short hours. He had been tossing and turning all night, feeling hot and breathless, imagining Aki next to him, unabashedly visualizing her naked body and himself ravaging it. To be fair, he had often visualized her and thought about her...but he always tried to be mindful because he felt that if he were to imagine her in compromising positions that it would be disrespectful to her (dreams aside, of course, because that was when his fantasies came to life without his guilt holding anything back). But now...all his fantasies had graphically multiplied by a millionfold since a few hours ago, pushing any of his remaining guilt into oblivion. It physically _pained_ him not to do anything about his lust now. He was now haunted by the physical memories of her kisses, of her breathtaking body pressing against him, of her warmth… and he wanted more. A lot more.

Groaning, he sat up on the bed, smacking the stupid alarm clock off. He then got up to take a cold shower, knowing that this was what could help him right now: he was right, it was refreshing enough and it helped get rid of his raging boner but not before his mind conjured up images of her showering with him… Thus, instead of a few minutes it took him well over thirty minutes before he was on his way driving to Crow's house.

While driving Yusei had to admit to himself, regretfully, that when he discovered that the Sky Dragon card was missing that the first person he suspected was actually Aki. After assuring him that he wasn't burdened alone and that she would be there for him, what better way to prove this to him than by taking away the one thing that singled him out for this battle?

And then it occurred to him that there was one other person that definitely thought about this the way that Aki did: Crow. Especially after what he'd said to him yesterday, no matter how seemingly harsh and assholish. And especially after Crow confessed, during Yusei's and Rutger's lethal duel, how the only fate that matters for all of them is the fact that they are all together and friends. _"As friends we must take care of one another…that's always been your motto_, Yusei recalled Crow's words.

And it all suddenly made sense, especially that awkward and out of nowhere hug that Crow gave him and the mysterious, "You'll thank me for this later." Crow, having been a thief at some point in life, had obviously acquired some quick and subtle skill of stealing things. That stupid hug was just a clever way of doing it and Yusei should have figured it out right then. Although Yusei wasn't quite sure about the exact reasons for which Crow had taken the Sky Dragon, he knew that Crow's intent was not in anyway malicious. But it didn't make it any less stupid.

Yusei arrived at Crow's building fifteen minutes after six and impatiently knocked on his apartment's door. This was around the time that Crow was up and ready to do his deliveries. It appeared that today Crow was taking his sweet time waking up.

"Crow, it's Yusei – open up," he mumbled, twisting the doorknob just in case but the door was completely locked up. So Crow wasn't home? Did he leave early or did he not come home today at all? Either way this was strange.

Yusei moved away, trying to think of where Crow could possibly be when, all of a sudden, his right arm began aching. He looked down and saw the red illumination of his Signer birthmark and he knew then that there was a reason why Crow wasn't home: it was because he was in trouble.

At the very same time Aki sat up sharply on her bed, suddenly awakened by the burning Crimson mark, and grabbed her arm. _Crow, _she thought instantly.

Yusei raced to where he sensed Crow was with what seemed to be the speed of light. _Why is the Crimson Dragon birthmark acting up now? _he was thinking, _If Crow is in one of those sacrificial duels then why didn't the birthmark react when Aki and I were in those duels? Is it because there something much worse happening to Crow? It's probably it. _

Yusei then heard earsplitting and repetitive thunder in the distance followed by rapid flashes of lightning in the abruptly darkened sky. The pale morning sun was blocked out by unusually heavy thunderstorm clouds. _Oh no, you didn't Crow,_ Yusei thought anxiously, accelerating his D-Wheel further to its limit.

The Signer birthmark led him into a parking lot behind a downtown lounge named "Blanche." Nearly a kilometre away he could already see the colossal blood red seal of _Sutekh Sacrificō_, the sacrifice to the God of Chaos achieved through the means of unwinnable duel.

"Crow!" Yusei called out once he practically jumped off his D-Wheel and ran up to the boundary of the seal, "Crow! What have you done?"

Crow was standing and staring up at the dark sky and its dangerously low storm clouds, and his pale opponent was doing the same. Crow was at 1200 Life Points and he had a monster on the field – Blackwing Syrocco the Dawn (ATK2000/DEF900) – and two face down cards; his bleeding opponent was at 200 Life Points and had La Magra equipped with Drain Leach magic card (ATK68000/DEF3000), and no face down cards on the field.

"Yusei!" Crow flinched and looked at back at his friend, "Yusei, I'll explain everything... I only took it because I wanted to teach you a lesson but this asshole here just had to challenge me to a duel! But once Osiris appears this will be over and we'll talk."

Yusei's left bicep was now hurting and he clutched at his arm. He felt the wetness of his jacket, knowing that the mysterious mark of Osiris was bleeding again. At the same time, it didn't even remotely hurt as much as it did the times he first saw the card or when he summoned it in a duel against Takashi. In fact, it was practically painless.

Yusei then looked up at the sky and realized that the Sky Dragon should have shown up by now. Instead, the flashes of lighting became more rapid and violent and were at this point dangerously and unsystematically hitting different patches on the ground.

"Um…what's going on? Why isn't it coming?" Crow muttered, still staring up at the sky and waiting for the dragon to make its appearance, now severely apprehensive of the strokes of lightning slamming into the ground.

Yusei shook his head, momentarily speechless.

"Oh my…it looks like the Sky Dragon isn't obeying you!" Mahdi shouted and laughed loudly, "Maybe it's time you decided on a different strategy because it looks like the Dragon of Osiris has found its master but that master isn't you!"

"Shut up, Mahdi!" Crow retorted boldly but his facial expression betrayed him, displaying his actual confusion and anxiety.

"This doesn't look good, Crow. You must get out of there…now," Yusei said, extremely worried now, as he stared from the sky to his friend in immediate danger.

"I can't get out unless the duel is over, remember?" Crow reminded him and took a step back while still watching the sky as if trying to predict where the lightning will hit or as if willing for the Dragon of Osiris to make its appearance.

"Crow! Yusei! What's happening?" Aki screamed having just arrived at the scene. Right behind her the car with Rua, Ruka, Ushio and Mikage drove up as well, followed by Jack and Carly. Aki let her D-Wheel drop to the ground, uncaringly, as she rushed to Yusei's side and also stared up at the rumbling sky.

Yusei looked away from the increasingly dangerous situation and as he set his eyes upon Aki, for a second, he had forgotten about _everything_. His heart skipped a beat and began racing. His face felt hot as he remembered kissing her, holding her, feeling her so close… He looked away and he was back in dire, desperate, horrible reality now. And he felt terribly guilty for having escaped it and for having momentarily abandoned Crow. "Set's up and running again and inspired someone to take down Crow. Crow took possession of the Sky Dragon," he briefed her and the rest of the gang that just approached them.

"Crow, watch out!" Rua screamed and Crow narrowingly escaped a strike of lightning which just raided the ground where he was standing.

"What made you think that you have the power to control a God," the guy named Mahdi was still laughing, going on and on, "What made you think you're entitled to such power? What made _you_ think you were the Chosen One?"

And then, for a moment, everything felt like it was in slow motion.

Crow turned to look back at Yusei and smiled. It was as if his eyes were saying, _Don't worry, man, everything will be alright_.

And then a bright flash of lightning struck the ground where Crow was standing.

"No!" Yusei screamed, running at the barrier of the seal, trying to break through, but unable to. His fists were punching an equivalent to a brick wall.

"Crow! Crow! Crow!" everybody else was screaming, some crying and wailing resounding.

The deafening roar of the Sky Dragon of Osiris, the Divine Egyptian beast, blocked out the rolling sounds of thunder and signified its disappearance. Seconds later the clouds cleared out revealing the sun-lit sky.

Crow was lying on the ground, motionless. The tall pale guy named Mahdi was still standing, unharmed by Dragon of Osiris' sudden retaliation, "It appears as if I had won…it's time that Set collects this blood offering."

"No, back off! Don't you dare lay a finger on him!" Yusei shouted, clenching his fists tightly.

"If you touch him you won't leave this duel alive, you son of a bitch! I'll break off both your legs!" Jack yelled.

"Please don't hurt Crow," Rua and Ruka cried.

Mahdi was ignoring them completely and started to closure Crow's immobile body when, right before the Solid Vision of La Magra disintegrated, Aki screamed, "No, stop! The duel isn't over yet."

"Yes, yes it is," Mahdi responded, stopping, and appearing perplexed by her command, "A duel is over when one of us loses. He's unconscious. He can't duel. He loses by default."

"No, he withdraws from the game. The duel will commence another time," Aki insisted. Yusei stared at her. _Fighting for what is right, fighting for what she believes in, no matter what_, he thought.

"Stupid girl," Mahdi said, shaking his head. La Magra and the rest of the cards on the field began disappearing into thin air.

There was no way Aki was going to let anything happen to any of her friends. No way. She stared at Blackwing Syrocco the Dawn, the remaining monster of Crow's field, and willed it, _forced _it to move, to attack. She's never done this before, affected and materialized a monster without playing it herself, but she had to try. She just had to. _Please, move. Move. Move! _she was concentrating intensely, a headache overwhelming her.

Everybody gasped when the disappearing Blackwing Syrocco the Dawn suddenly moved and materialized, rushing into a direct attack against the bleeding man, completely outside of the duel rules.

"Aki, how are you-" Yusei began, unable to finish his sentence, completely dumbfounded.

"Nani?" Mahdi whispered, looking up to see Blackwing Syrocco the Dawn flying at him and right before the monster smashed into him, throwing him back like a rag doll from an overwhelming physical attack. As he hit the ground, unconscious now, the sacrificial seal had vaporized as if it was never there before.

"That was…too much…" Aki whispered breathlessly and lost her balance. Nobody else noticed because they all ran straight to Crow, trying to awaken him, but luckily for her Yusei stayed behind. Having apparently predicted that this was about to happen to her, he quickly caught her.

"Aki, are you okay?" he asked worriedly, gently holding her.

Aki's blurry vision lasted for a few more seconds and then cleared. She nodded lightly, "Yeah…let's hope I never have to do that again." She could taste a faint taste of copper in her mouth. She silently wished to be held forever like this. Yusei wished the same thing, no matter how selfish it seemed at the moment, no matter how unethical.

The Emergency sirens brought them out of their still daze. He returned a quick smile and helped her back up to her feet and both of them then rushed to tend to Crow. Nobody noticed their moment of intimacy. Meanwhile, the Emergency crew arrived at the scene (apparently Ushio and Mikage called for it right away) and hurried to help get Crow and Mahdi to the nearest ER as soon as humanly possible.

After four long and agonizing hours of waiting room hell, all of them were called into Crow's recovery room.

"He's stable but…he's in a coma. I'm afraid that there isn't anything we can do. He may come out in a couple of hours, days…or maybe even weeks…" the doctor gravely informed them.

_Or months,_ Yusei thought and closed his eyes painfully. _Oh Crow…why…why would you do this? What were you trying to do? Were you aware of the risks? Were you trying to protect me? How could you be so stupid?_

Ruka, Mikage and Carly were crying uncontrollably while Rua, Ushio and Aki were more discreetly wiping at their tears. Everybody knew that Crow was alive…but that didn't make matters much better at this point.

"The other guy brought in is also stable…he should come to in a couple of hours, and we'll move all of them in one place," the doctor finished and politely left the room.

"Let's give them some privacy," Aki whispered and ushered the gang out of the room so that only Jack and Yusei could remain with Crow. The three of them, friends until the end.

Yusei and Jack sat down by the hospital bed and silently watched Crow's vitals and heart monitor.

It felt like eternity before Yusei exited Crow's recovery room. His cobalt blue eyes looked dead, his face pale. Without looking at all of his friends lounging outside of the room (and not even noticing that they were joined by Saiga and Bruno), he went right across the hallway and practically slammed the door open to Mahdi's room. He needed to get to the bottom of this. He needed to find out what Mahdi knows. He needed somebody to pay for what happened to Crow. The two nurses in that room gasped and hurried to usher him out, "Please, sir, this man needs his rest. He's still unconscious and he needs to recover. We'll call you when he's awake."

"Um…Yusei…we have more bad news. Since Crow's accident there had been thirty more reported duels. No survivors. The Investigation Bureau is doing their best to prevent these duels but, so far, no success. There will be an announcement tonight. The city might go under martial law if these rates continue," Ushio informed him once he came out of Mahdi's room.

Hate, unimaginable and incomprehensible hate, pumped black and bitter blood in his veins. His fury wouldn't hold him back when he finds Set, and when he makes that God pay for all the pain, suffering and death he had caused. He would make a God bleed to his own death.

"Yusei…" Mikage and Rua started saying.

"I need to be alone right now," Yusei retorted, barely hearing anything, and walked away from all of them.

He somehow ended up in an empty dark recovery room. _Fuck_, he thought, gritting his teeth, _Fuck! _and punched the wall with his fist, becoming overwhelmed with horrible and hollow feeling of hopelessness. It was too much, everything was just too much.

"Yusei…" a quiet feminine voice sounded and he twirled around to see Aki standing in the doorway.

Feeling extremely intimidated, Aki sheepishly closed the door behind her. "I don't think you should be alone right now, Yusei…it's…"

She never got to finish her sentence because he suddenly crossed the distance between them and his lips captured hers in a passionate kiss, muting her surprised gasp. Once again she found herself pressed up against the wall with his body plastered against her, his passion devouring her. _Out of pain, pleasure…in pleasure, pain_, she thought, moaning lightly against his lips, burning up in her desire, her arms grasping his shoulders. His hands wandered over her body, daring further than during their first kiss, caressing her bare thighs beneath her swiftly rolled down stockings and beginning to slide upward underneath her magenta skirt… Aki's eyes snapped open and widened. _What?_

But all of a sudden he let out a choking gasp into their kiss and broke away, falling down to his knees in front of her, and embracing her stomach. "Oh God…Aki…Oh God…Sometimes I just don't know what to do…Sometimes I don't know if there is anything at all that I can do…What if there is nothing I can do?" he whispered, shuddering, about to break down.

"Shhh….shhh…" Aki slid down to the ground, embracing him, and gently began stroking his hair. Yusei buried his face in her lap, giving in to her comfort and refusing to let his tears be seen.

* * *

_Aww…so sad - poor Crow and poor Yusei. I hope everything works out. Also, Yusei and Aki are now even closer to doing it, yaaaaaaay: because what better way to heal pain than to find comfort in each other…_

_So for next Chapter: Will Crow awaken from coma? Or will he die (!)? Will that random new character Mahdi tell them anything useful? Will the gang be able to stop any duels? Is the city going to die out? Will Yusei pull himself together or will he give up? Will Aki help him make up his mind by offering to get it on with him (lol)?_

_Stay tuned and you (might) find out! _


	12. Chapter 11: Divide and conquer

_Author's Note:_

_Here is Chapter 11 of "The Kingdom [be]Comes!" _

_I have to apologize for a small delay (I usually post a new chapter by Tuesday) but now that school is about to start I don't think that I'll be able to update as often but I will still try to do my best. For now, I will keep aiming for every Tuesday but, if something comes up (like midterms) then I hope to update within two weeks time. _

_This chapter is very long, however, and may be a bit confusing because there is a lot of back and forth and things going on. There is some romance, some action, some short duels, some parallel action, some humour, some drama, some plot exposition…basically a lot of things that I did not want to split into two chapters. _

_Once again, thank you for all your reviews, thoughts and questions. You guys make me so happy and really get me pumped up to start writing another chapter! _

_I hope you enjoy this chapter and thank you for reading!_

_**NineInchNailed.**_

* * *

"_**Not only do I not know what's going on, I wouldn't know what to do about it if I did."**_

_~George Carlin._

* * *

"Are you going to be alright?" Aki asked.

"I have to be," Yusei replied.

"Do you trust me?"

"I trust you."

"Do you trust me when I say that I will never lie to you?"

"Yes."

"Then trust me when I say that you must never feel hopeless, or like everything is lost," Aki said.

"I trust you," he repeated.

"Because nothing is ever hopeless, nothing is ever entirely lost," she said.

"Yes…" Yusei agreed quietly.

"Together we can do anything," she whispered.

"Anything," he concurred.

"And you must never feel alone because you never will be," Aki said.

"Never," he repeated.

"Because you have all of us and you always will," she concluded.

"I do," Yusei said, brushing his hand against her cheek, "But do I have _you_?"

"You have me…yes…" she whispered, shyly, standing up on her tiptoes to reach his lips.

"If that's the case…then I'm going to be alright," Yusei whispered, leaning down and kissing her, slowly.

Their hands touched, fingers intertwined.

Yusei quietly came out of the empty recovery room and, fixing his jacket, walked back to the other side of the hospital's complex, to where Crow's room was. Aki followed him, a few minutes after.

Jack, Rua, Ruka, Bruno and Mikage all looked up at him when Yusei approached. Ushio and Saiga were snoring loudly, unconsciously leaning on each other.

"Everything O.K.?" Ruka gently inquired.

"Alright," Yusei nodded, nearing Bruno and shaking his hand, "It's good to see you again, Bruno. I take it you've heard about things that have been happening?"

"I have," Bruno said, sadly, "I figured you guys would be thrown in a middle of this, you guys are always that lucky. But Crow…"

Yusei looked away, "Is he still the same?"

"The same," Carly answered, wiping at her eyes.

Yusei closed his eyes.

"Hey…anything?" Aki asked as she neared the gang but stopped far away from Yusei. She succeeded in eliminating her blush – well, most of it anyway – but standing next to him would just trigger feelings of longing and desire, as well as sensations of his body against hers, his lips, his hands… She just wouldn't be able to compose herself, at all.

The group of friends shook their heads to her question.

A minute of grave silence before Yusei spoke up. "We don't have much time. We have to split up."

"Split up?" Rua asked, confused.

"Yes – one or two of us will stay here with Crow. The rest breaks into three groups: mine, Jack's, and Aki's. Nobody goes alone. We're going to stop these duels using any means possible. And then, depending on our success rate, we will rotate," Yusei decided. The implication was that, without Crow, the three of them were the strongest duelists in the group, and Aki had won one of those impossible duels before. Furthermore, Yusei trusted Jack's dueling skills unquestionably. He really, really hated doing this, however. This was dangerous. And the danger made him especially unwilling to separate from Aki, but unfortunately they had to. He hoped she understood.

Yusei used a moment of everyone's silent deliberation to glance at Aki. Their eyes met. She nodded, understandingly, giving him an almost invisible smile.

"What exactly did you have in mind? About stopping the duels, that is? What are the certain ways?" Jack inquired.

"For one, winning the duel is a definite way. However, I strongly suggest leaving that method as a last resort: we're not trying to propagate any more accidents. We're trying to prevent them. Thus, I suggest trying to physically prevent the dueling first – we have all seen that it's possible to disrupt it having witnessed Aki's incredible intervention," Yusei responded and gestured towards Aki, his eyes locking on her. Others stared at her as well, nodding.

Blood rushed to Aki's face as she felt suddenly in the spot light. Furthermore, she never really got much praise in her life and was still getting used to accepting compliments. She still wasn't very good at it. She responded with a bashful smile.

"So…we have a permission to beat people up?" Ushio deducted, smirking as he cracked his knuckles.

"It would be preferable if the people in question reached adulthood…but more or less, yes," Yusei said, "It should be a way to stop a duel before it happens. But in case that doesn't work or is a bit _unethical_: taking away their deck and ripping La Magra monster card, Drain Leach magic card, and Discord trap card should be other ways to do it."

"And if the duel is already underway?" Rua asked hesitantly, "We won't be able to get through that seal to stop it, right?"

"That's why I'd rather none of us engage in the actual duels by ourselves. Not if the Discord trap card is pulled into play. However…Aki was capable of defeating it without the use of her Synchro monster. So was I. Trap cards, magic cards, Fusion monsters…anything to go around Synchro summoning. And, in the case of chance where Discord trap card had not been drawn, there is always the Crimson Dragon," Yusei concluded, deliberately not looking at Aki right now.

Aki looked down. _No, there is another way…but only I, as a psychic duelist, can do it. Why didn't he mention that? Shouldn't we do anything in our power to stop evil? _

"This works," Ruka whispered. Others nodded, agreeing as well.

Jack stood up, "The more of us are out there the better – I suggest we contact Kiryu and Sherry. Sherry has just returned to Neo Domino, last night."

Aki barely suppressed her sudden annoyance. _Ugh…Sherry?_ she thought.

Carly was rubbing her temples, looking confused and like she couldn't remember something.

"Kiryu, yes. But…Sherry?" Yusei mumbled.

"Yes, she is back. And she wants to see you," Jack said.

Yusei still wasn't saying anything. Aki noticed his silence and started feeling a bit uneasy.

Aki didn't actually dislike Sherry, at least not really. She thought she was a great duelist and a strong and independent woman. In a way, Sherry was a role model to aspire to – she was everything Aki wasn't, especially in her painful Arcadia days. And maybe in another time or place Aki and Sherry could have been the best of friends. Unfortunately, in the current time and place they were unofficial competitors: they were competing for a certain man's attention. And to be honest, up until Sherry had decided to move back to France a few months ago and up until Aki tried moving on herself, Aki often felt like she was losing this battle to her.

Aki was now watching Yusei's reactions very, very closely.

Jack cleared his throat.

"Oh," Yusei said, as if waking up from his trance, "Yeah…that will be a good thing to do. I guess I'll let her know."

"It's good that you agree. Saiga actually already called her up about an hour ago. She should be here soon," Jack informed him and sat back down.

Yusei stared at Jack, then Saiga, and then looked away, contemplating.

"Is there something wrong with Sherry-san, Yusei?" Ruka asked, being as attentive and sensitive to everything as always.

_Yeah, I'd like to know this too_, Aki thought as she eyed him, her lips pursed.

Yusei shook his head, smiling lightly, "No, nothing."

"You all look like hell," suddenly sounded a melodic and slightly deep voice, "But I can't say that I blame you."

Yusei turned towards the voice and approaching footsteps and saw Sherry LeBlanc walking elegantly down the hallway. Harsh hospital lights played surprisingly well on her by illuminating her blonde hair to platinum and making her look almost ethereal.

Sherry stopped next to him, gracefully flipped her hair and gave him one of her signature smirks. "You, on the other hand, look better than ever. How have you been, stranger?"

"Sherry…" Yusei smiled, "It's been more or less the same these few months. But it did get very interesting recently."

"Well, you know me, Fudo Yusei… I love interesting. Looks like I chose a good time to return," Sherry responded. She reached out and touched his arm.

Aki's lip quivered with jealousy. She cleared her throat and ran up to stand at Yusei's side, deciding to split this up, whatever this was...could be…or had been. "Hey, Sherry, it's good to see you again!" she exclaimed, barely preventing herself from blurting out that Yusei and her are now sort of, maybe, kind of together. Because they kind of were…right?

Magnetic emerald eyes pierced into hers as Sherry acknowledged her for the first time. Aki felt a blush creeping back to her face and quickly lowered her gaze, suddenly feeling very intimidated. Sherry was just so beautiful, why did she have to be so beautiful? Aki wondered if Yusei thought so as well and her heart wilted at the thought.

"Izayoi, Aki," Sherry said shortly, "Good to see you too." She then turned her whole attention to Yusei and asked, grinning, "So…what would you like me to do?"

Yusei opened his mouth to answer but Aki hurried to answer instead, "Basically we're splitting into small groups and trying to stop dangerous duels which have been going on all over the city. So I hope that you came on your D-Wheel. I don't know if you'll be taking Saiga or Bruno or-"

"Actually, it would make more sense if Sherry comes with me," Yusei interrupted her.

Aki went mute and stared up at him, her eyes wide open.

"I'll debrief her more on what's going on and we'll see if her strategizing is compatible with our opponents," he explained.

"Don't trust my skills anymore, eh, Yusei? I might just have to convince you otherwise…" Sherry said, grinning flirtatiously. He returned a smile.

Aki looked away, feeling angry, jealous but, mostly, very hurt. _What the hell_, she was thinking_, Why does she get to go with him? This isn't fair! And why are they so flirty? Well..she was always flirty with him but he never really returned her advances…or did he now?_

"It is settled then," Jack said, breaking the mixed up atmosphere of the triangle, "I'll contact Kiryu as soon as possible. Meanwhile this is how I say we divide: I'll take Carly and Ushio; Yusei can take Sherry and Bruno; Izayoi will take Rua and Ruka. Mikage and Saiga stay with Crow. Does this work for everyone?"

Nods, murmurs of agreement followed.

_Doesn't work for me_, Aki thought bitterly. She shrugged, mumbling, "Whatever," under her breath.

Yusei watched Aki, wondering what was up with her. This was obviously the best decision in this situation but not his favourite – in fact, it was _far_ from his favourite. But none of them really had much choice right now. He was definitely going to talk to her about this when they come back though.

"One second, I need to do something first," he requested and quietly made his way into Crow's recovery room.

The room was cold, and empty of any decorations, such as flowers or paintings, which could add warmth. The white paint on the walls further emphasized the absolute bleakness and emptiness. Yusei looked at his best friend lying there, unconscious, and on the verge of death, and felt hollowness returning to sink him.

"Crow…" he whispered, painfully, and slowly approached the stand by the bed, picking up Crow's deck of cards. He quickly found the Sky Dragon of Osiris there. _Just what the hell are you_, he thought angrily, for a thousandth time, staring at it, _Are you a way to help us win this battle or are you a curse, a damnation upon us all? You've brought nothing but pain! Look at what you've done! _

Gritting his teeth, he was barely holding on a thread from ripping this damned God card into shreds, and from peeling off his skin to remove that horrible painful mark. _The power of Osiris…thanks for choosing me, Yugi Mutou-san. Thanks for nothing. The power of death is exactly what I need_, he thought bitterly but then took a deep breath and instantly calmed himself. After his therapy session with Jack's fist once upon a time and mental healing from Aki earlier on today it was about time that he's pulled himself together. He had no time to weep and moan anymore. _Let it be_, he thought, adding the Egyptian God Card back to his own deck, _You've only been useful once and your harm outweighs your worth, Sky Dragon. Help me stop more of these duels, to stop Set and to stop people from dying. You might have chosen me but I have not chosen you. Prove your worth to me and maybe then you will give me a reason not to destroy you._

Taking one last look at unconscious Crow, Yusei exited the room and faced the rest of the group again. "Are we ready?" he asked as if nothing happened and placed his deck into his pocket.

"Ready," the group concurred.

"Yusei…can I talk to you for a second?...Alone?" Aki suddenly requested. She felt really, really awkward, like everybody was staring at her and judging her for wasting everyone's time. When Yusei turned to look at her she felt like even he was annoyed.

"Sure," he responded, unfazed, and followed her around the corner where nobody could hear them, "Aki…what is it?"

Although Aki was still quite jealous and pissed, she didn't fail to notice him holding his deck of cards and realized, then, why he had gone to Crow just now. She suddenly identified with Crow – she understood, in her own way, why Crow might have taken the God card. She didn't want Yusei using it again or ever, not after what she witnessed it doing to him. At the same time, standing there looking at him, she really had to fight herself from either jumping on him or from giving him silent and evil treatment over how he's been with Sherry just now. Unfortunately, she couldn't do either of those.

Aki took a deep breath."I don't want you using that card, Yusei," she blurted out, "We still don't know anything about its purpose or its powers and especially not after what it did to you _and_ Crow!"

Yusei, touched by her concern, was suddenly transfixed by a loose strand of her hair falling over her eyes. He carefully pulled it back.

"I-I-I'm serious, Yusei!" she exclaimed, stuttering slightly as a result of his abrupt gentleness. But why was he acting like what she was saying wasn't important? Or like he wasn't even listening? "I think it's dangerous and I…" she paused, unable to meet his eyes, and whispered under her breath, "And I don't want you to get hurt...I…worry…"

"Oh, I know all of that," he responded quietly, gently lifting her chin so she would look at him, "And if the choice comes, I will pick my Stardust, every single time. However, this card is a way for me to deal when Stardust or any other Synchro monsters are inaccessible. I don't know if we'll ever find out exactly what's going on with the Sky Dragon…but if it helps me save more lives, the way it saved Takashi-kun's, then everything goes. Even…after what happened to Crow. And please, Aki…you needn't worry – after all I have this to protect me, remember?" he said and gestured at the Eye of Horus, a protective charm at his neck, her present to him for his 20th birthday.

_He's still wearing it…_Aki was thinking, _And he even remembers its purpose…_

"Okay," she breathed, unable to hide her smile over his mention of her gift. Additionally, she understood Yusei's reasoning about the God card although she could not actually agree with it herself. She wasn't going to renounce his decision, however. It was more than clear to her that while she was being driven by her emotions that he was driven by logic and rationality. And reason was what they all needed right now. "Actually…about saving lives, um…" Aki said, deciding to ask him another thing that was bothering her, "Why didn't you mention earlier that I could…you know…stop duels midway without engaging in a duel myself…why did you exclude that as a possibility from others? Not like they don't know I can do that…"

"Oh, Aki…" he whispered, shaking his head. "Isn't it obvious? Because doing that really hurt you and I don't want you to get hurt. So please…don't do it. We have other methods."

"Well…now that you put it this way…" she whispered, dreamily. All that Sherry-jealousy stuff flew right out of the window for her. She was almost melting looking into the perfect blue of his eyes and hearing the affection in his voice… Unable to control herself she grabbed his face and pulled him to her for a kiss.

"Okay, can we get going now?" they suddenly heard Jack's voice and approaching footsteps and, literally a second before Jack had turned around the corner, Aki jumped back nearly three metres.

"Um yeah, so thanks for helping out with that thing, Yusei…" she was saying quickly, nervously pulling at her hair, as Jack came into their view, "The thing was difficult."

"Sure," Yusei nodded, grinning, and turned to stare nonchalantly at Jack, "We're ready to go."

Jack stared at Yusei, then at Aki, and then slowly turned around, walking away.

Aki sighed in relief. While she didn't actually want to keep this Yusei and her thing, whatever it could be, secret, she wasn't yet ready to come out to their opinionated friends about it. She hasn't even told Carly and didn't even know how: especially since Carly recently expressed a negative opinion about any possibility of this relationship.

"Another time," Yusei said and winked playfully at her which sent another rush of blood to her face, as if she wasn't blushing enough already.

They walked back to the rest of the gang where Yusei made sure that everybody was clear on what to do. "Lastly, Mikage-san and Saiga – you must contact us as soon as possible if there are any news either on Crow or Mahdi. Any news at all," he demanded and then lead the way out of the hospital while everybody else followed him. Aki watched him walking at the front with Sherry and thought about how grateful she was that he was back to a stable mindset and to being a leader. He was a leader they all desperately needed and a leader they would all follow to the end..

They parted ways at the parking lot, making sure they could all stay in contact.

They split up where Yusei, Sherry and Bruno took the East side of Neo Domino, Aki and the twins took West, and Jack, Carly and Ushio took South. They decided that whoever's region of the city would be clean first then that team would follow up to North area of the city. The Satellite Island would be checked once they were done Neo Domino.

Divide and conquer.

* * *

_Six hours later…_

**Team Yusei**

"Ugh, what was that! You've got to be kidding me!" Sherry muttered.

"That was La Magra," Yusei answered as he watched the ambulance staff rushing to get a wounded but _alive_ and conscious man to a closest ER.

"And what is it supposed to be? It's Solid Vision, isn't it? Why was it _real_? Are psychic duelists involved in this?" she inquired.

"We only know that it's Set's servant and that it helps fetch tributes for him. Aki also hypothesized that the whole seal is just a way to feed it," Yusei responded.

"Makes sense," Sherry sighed, "But at least you are now convinced that my Fleur Knight deck can take this on no problem. Three turns too!"

"True," Yusei agreed.

Short silence ensued as they contemplated the implications.

"Hey, Sherry-san…do you remember the time when you almost kicked me in the face?" Bruno randomly asked, trying to cheer everybody up. Sherry glared at him as if noticing him for the first time.

"Two lost, seven saved," Yusei mumbled to himself, ignoring his two teammates, as he recounted their success rate so far.

**Team Aki**

"Rua, get out of the way!" Aki ordered.

Obediently, Rua fell to the ground, covering his head.

"Ivy Wall, attack!" she commanded, gesturing at the materialized Duel Monster to physically strike the duelist who had begun chanting the summoning of _Sutekh Sacrificō_ seal.

The spiked vine of the Ivy Wall smacked the chanting girl and knocked her out unconscious while her opponent ran away screaming. A duel stopped before commencing.

"We have ambulance on speed dial at this point, right?" Ruka asked as she helped Rua back up on his feet.

"Yup…although I don't know how soon they will arrive at the scene: all medical personnel has been kept insanely busy these past few days," Aki responded, disabling her duel disk, as she hurried to tend to the unconscious duelist.

"We'll just have to do our best," Ruka sighed.

"What's our count now?" Rua asked.

"Eight saved, one lost," Aki said. _One too many_, she thought.

**Team Jack**

"I hate these stupid kids sometimes!" Jack barked as he struggled to pull off one middle school aged kid of the other, one of whom was screaming, "You must duel me! I'll teach you a lesson! You will never steal my lunches again!"

"To be fair…I was really pissed off when people stole my lunches too when I was a little kid," Ushio mumbled as he urged the kid that was challenged to run away.

"Yeah, but you didn't try to _kill_ them for it, there's a big difference," Carly commented.

Jack smacked the screaming kid in the back of his head, "Shut up and snap out of it! Atlas-sama can't take anymore of this screaming!"

"Jack! I can't believe you did that!" Carly gasped, "It's just a little kid!"

"A little kid that just won't snap out of it…" Ushio said thoughtfully as the kid had now kicked Jack's shin and started screaming, "Oh, you'd like me to own you first you stupid blonde bully? Fine, duel me! Duel me! Duel me!"

"Ugh, just try this!" Carly exclaimed as she snatched the deck of cards out of the boy's duel disk, quickly found the three cards Yusei told them to watch out for, and shreaded them into pieces. The pieces fell to the ground and disintegrated into nothing.

The boy stopped fighting and screaming, stood completely still for a second, and then raised his hands to his eyes starting to cry uncontrollably, "Where am I, where is my mom? I want to go home!"

"See, that worked," Carly said as she started comforting the little boy.

Jack grimaced, rubbing his sore shin.

"What are we at, again? Six to one? Not too bad," Ushio concluded.

* * *

_Three hours later…_

**Team Yusei**

Yusei was staring at the cards in his hands, from the silver Synchro card to the dark red Monster card, trying to decide on what to do. _He might have a trap there_, he thought, _But…Stardust will always be my choice._

"I tune my level three Junk Synchron to my level five Junk Warrior. Clustering hopes will become a new shining star. Become the path its light shines upon. Synchro Summon! Take flight, Stardust Dragon!" Yusei commanded and a beautiful silver dragon, his pride and his soul, took flight.

"You're still missing about 2000 points on my monster!" his opponent shouted at him.

"I'm just getting started," Yusei smiled.

"Yes, he is," Sherry confirmed to herself, and smirked.

**Team Aki**

_That trap card again, Discord! _Aki thought, agitated, _But it's okay, this time I'm prepared._

"Then I activate my trap card, Phantom Destruction – I can select one card on the field and flip it face down. So I pick Discord," she said and watched, pleased, as her opponent's Trap became deactivated.

"No!" the possessed girl screamed out.

"Yes!" the twins cheered.

"Chilling flames engulf the entire world. Pitch-dark flower, set into bloom! Synchro Summon! Appear now, Black Rose Dragon!" Aki chanted and watched, with love and fascination, as her loyal Black Rose Dragon appeared. _And now this duel is over_, she thought.

**Team Jack**

"I've had enough of this! You will regret now to have challenged Jack Atlas!" Jack shouted as he slapped the silver Synchro card onto his duel disk, "The rulers' heartbeats will now file through here! Take witness to its creation-shaking power! Synchro Summon! My very soul, Red Demon's Dragon!"

Jack's powerful and devoted monster emerged, causing his defenseless opponent to begin shaking with fear.

"Jack…" Carly whispered, awed.

"Now, Red Demon's Dragon! Attack his life points directly! Blazing crimson hell fire!" Jack commanded and observed the magnificent attack which depleted the possessed person's life points to zero.

* * *

_Two hours later_...

**Team Yusei**

_Aki asked me not to…but I said that if I have to and if it's my only chance then I will. Prove your worth, Sky Dragon of Osiris_, Yusei decided after some contemplation.

"I tribute my three monsters to summon the power of an Egyptian God – come forth, the Sky Dragon of Osiris!" Yusei ordered and the second he placed the card onto the duel disk, the night sky rumbled with rolling thunder and heavy clouds blocked out the moon and the stars.

"…Why do you have a monster that's so out of place in your Speed Warrior deck, Yusei?" Sherry mumbled from the sidelines where she stood with Bruno.

Yusei felt another stab at his arm where the mark of the Sky Dragon was, a significant pain, but not nearly as much as it used to be. The abrupt wet sensation at his bicep signified that he was still, inexplicably, bleeding when Sky Dragon made an appearance. As the colossal red dragon emerged out of the sky Yusei felt almost like a strong rush of wind was passing through him and closed his eyes. He felt such exhilaration, such empowerment. He felt like he had the power to do anything, like he could do anything he ever wanted or needed.

He sighed and opened his eyes, facing his opponent with an unwavering and cool demeanor.

"I have five cards in my hand. Let's just say this isn't your lucky day," he informed his now panicking enemy.

**Team Aki**

_Yusei asked me not to…but I have to do anything in my power to stop this_, Aki thought as she gazed upon an unfolding duel in front of them. The possessed person had La Magra on her field while her opponent had one monster in defense mode and no cards on his field in addition to measly 200 Life Points left.

"Aki-neechan, what do we do?" Rua whispered to her.

"Don't worry, I know what to do," Aki said as she concentrated on the defensive monster in play. _Move, move, just move_, she was thinking, overwhelmed with a sudden piercing headache, _Materialize and obey me. Go for a direct attack. _

The monster suddenly moved to the surprise of everybody present and rushed into an out-of-duel direct attack. It avoided La Magra completely and knocked out the possessed duelist unconscious, causing the duel to finish and for the _Sutekh Sacrificō_ seal to disappear.

"Aki-san, you did it! …Oneechan? What's wrong?" the twins were asking, worriedly, when Aki collapsed to her knees.

Aki hurried to wipe the abrupt nose bleed and slowly shook her head, unable to make quick movements due to a bad migraine. "I'm alright…This is just something that's at the limit of my psychic powers…it requires a lot of power. Don't worry about anything."

**Team Jack**

_They asked me not to…but I really need to do it right now_, Jack thought.

He pulled out a cigarette and lit it, taking a long drag and sighing with contentment, completely ignoring Carly's discontented yelling.

* * *

In about an hour later, all three teams were back at the hospital after they received an urgent call from Mikage who informed them of two very important things: first, and outmost important, was that Crow had regained consciousness. And second, that Mahdi, the guy that dueled Crow, had vanished into thin air and all he left behind him were blood soaked bed sheets.

They all stormed into Crow's room where all of them jumped onto Crow's bed to give him hugs, much to the doctors' disapproval.

"Okay guys, I can't breathe!" Crow complained even though he was laughing.

"Oh Crow, you're okay!" everybody was exclaiming in delight.

Only Yusei stood on the side and he was the only one not to have jumped on Crow although he was still smiling happily. The attending doctor called to him and outside of the recovery room updated him on Crow's stats, telling him that everything was completely normal and that this was practically a medical miracle. Additionally, he told Yusei about the disappearance of Mahdi.

"We've alerted the police about what happened and they're searching for him now. With his injury he must be kept under watch for at least a couple more days, so it's very dangerous for him to have left," the doctor told him.

"Is there anything else you managed to find out about him?" Yusei asked.

"Well, the police ran a check on him, his blood and fingerprints, and nothing came up. As in, he doesn't appear to exist. One thing though, if it's of any relevance, is that this man is suffering from severe anemia. The fact that he was able to survive his injury at all was miraculous. His deficit further necessitates that he's found as soon as possible and brought into necessary care," the doctor explained.

Yusei thanked him for the information and returned back to Crow's room. Jack couldn't stop hugging Crow to the point where he had to be pulled off him.

"I'd like a word with Crow, please. Alone," Yusei requested and the gang hurriedly left the two friends alone, including Jack.

A short silence followed before Crow sat up more comfortably and said, "Yusei…I know you must be mad at me but-"

"No," Yusei interrupted, shaking his head, "No, Crow, I'm not. I was upset and worried and now I am relieved." He then closured Crow and gave him a tight brotherly hug.

"Do you want to know why I did it though?" Crow asked when his friend released him.

"I do," Yusei nodded.

"I just kind of noticed that you were under a lot of pressure, man," Crow said, "You always get singled out and usually not in a good way and this enemy is no different. And after that Mokuba bastard had almost orgasmed looking at that letter and God card I figured that I could try taking some stress off you, especially if that Mokuba decides to come looking for you. And if you think about it, I was kind of right!...even though it wasn't really Mokuba this time…"

Yusei felt incredibly touched. He looked down and whispered, "You didn't have to do that, Crow…"

"Probably not but it doesn't mean that I didn't want to. Trust me, if I had a chance to do it all over again I would," Crow said with a smile, "I have to take care of my younger brother don't I?"

"But you've got less than three weeks on me…" Yusei replied.

"Your point being…?" Crow asked, laughing as he grabbed Yusei and noogie'd his head.

Meanwhile, Aki was sitting outside next to Rua and Ruka, both of whom were napping, while Sherry sat on a couch across from them. Sherry was sitting with her eyes closed and her arms folded while Aki was eyeing her, once in awhile, with annoyed looks. The rest of the gang left to grab some snacks and coffee for Crow and for themselves.

_Why did she stay here,_ Aki was thinking, _Is it because she's waiting for Yusei? Why is she waiting for Yusei? Did they have some fun bonding time stopping all these duels? _She looked away, trying to calm her feelings of jealousy.

"Izayoi Aki, you've been staring at me all night. If you have something to say to me then you might as well say it," Sherry suddenly said, opening her emerald eyes and staring at Aki. Aki flinched, staring back, her face blushing under such abrupt and true accusation. She had no idea that Sherry noticed!

"Oh…ano…nothing!" Aki hurried to answer, biting her lips, "I was just wondering how you and Yusei did, stopping duels and all. Oh, and Bruno too."

"It went rather great, I have to say," Sherry responded, "We prevented fifteen duels, either by interrupting or participating, and we were too late for only three, two of which included Riding Duels. It's obvious that we couldn't do much to stop those."

"I see…" Aki said, finding herself relieved in that Sherry didn't mention anything suspicious about herself and Yusei. _I guess I'm really just overreacting_, Aki thought_, Maybe there is no reason for me to be so absurdly jealous after all._

"They weren't too difficult," Sherry continued, "Those duels that is. We also covered a large area and Yusei and I got to catch up after all that time I was away! Je me suis bien amusé!"

Aki felt like she just turned green with envy. She had no idea what Sherry said in French but her manner of speaking was so infuriatingly playful that Aki only needed her own imagination to figure out what she's just said.

"I bet there wasn't that much to catch up on…" Aki muttered under her breath and folded her arms as well.

"No, there was quite a bit, especially after how ambiguously I left things off between him and I," Sherry casually answered, "Maybe this time he'll make up his mind," she added with a sigh.

Aki suddenly jumped up to her feet, pointed at Sherry and blurted out, "Yusei and I have kissed! Like, a lot! So there isn't anything else for him to make up his mind on!"

Sherry stared at her, completely taken aback by the randomness of that response. For a moment Aki felt mortified, like she had just made a complete and jealous fool out of herself, when Sherry let out a melodious laugh and said, "Oh my…such naivety can be just so cute! This is so high-school! Come on now, Izayoi Aki…who here _hasn't_ kissed Yusei?"

Meanwhile, in Crow's recovery room, Yusei leaned back against his chair and tried one of the hospital cookies on the platter. It tasted like soap.

"It's gross, isn't it? Can't wait until everybody gets here with real food," Crow said as he rubbed his rumbling stomach. He then stared closely at Yusei and grinned, "Wow, it's so obvious…so you and Izayoi, eh? _Finally_."

Yusei almost choked on the cookie he was eating. "What?" he wheezed, coughing.

"So it is true! I thought I saw her lipstick on your face…" Crow said, thoughtfully.

Yusei hurried to wipe his mouth with his sleeve which just caused Crow to burst out laughing. "Dude, I was just kidding…there is no lipstick. She doesn't _wear_ lipstick, come on. You just gave yourself away though, haha. But it's okay, I knew because you could smell her perfume all over you," he managed to say through his laughing.

Yusei stared at him in disbelief, unable to share his lightheartedness especially not after what he's told him two days ago! "_Finally_? Did you just say "finally"?" he asked slowly.

Crow noticed the look on his face and his mouth formed into an "O" in sudden realization, "Yes, finally. It's about time, don't you think?"

"But earlier on you said that I won't make up my mind and that I should let her go!" Yusei hurried to say, completely confused and discontent.

Crow waved his hand at him, "Please. I was just saying that to get you to make up your mind, man! It's so obvious, come on. But hey, I'm glad it worked! I was starting to get worried, too, you always went on and on about card games when Jack and I would be talking about chicks."

Yusei stared at him and then threw a pillow at his face, "That got me so upset that I almost told her that it would never work out between us!"

"Well, clearly that all turned out for the better, don't you think," Crow said, laughing, "And yeah…I mean, it might have been a bit harsh but you really needed a reality check, I thought."

Yusei sighed and facepalmed. He couldn't believe how right Crow was. He couldn't believe just how much he actually needed somebody like Crow to have told him this. "Thank you, Crow…I mean it," he said quietly, looking up at him with a smile.

"I know, sometimes I can be so awesome that I amaze myself," Crow replied proudly.

At the same time, outside of the recovery room, Aki was standing in front of Sherry and her eyes were practically shooting lightning.

The twins Rua and Ruka were awake now from all the screaming and sat on the couch looking drowsy and confused.

"I don't believe you," Aki said, clenching her hands into small fists. It all of a sudden hit her, all the times Crow, Saiga and Jack told them they went out with Yusei and all the women they claimed to meet, and also the time Aki saw hickeys on Yusei's neck. She forgot completely about how Yusei appeared to have been seeing other women for the whole duration of their friendship while getting mad at her for trying to see other men! It wasn't really that important to her _anymore_, Aki had to admit, but not if Sherry was telling the truth and if Yusei had actually dated Sherry at some point!

"Why not? And if you have doubts then why not ask him, yourself?" Sherry asked and casually shrugged, stifling a yawn, "Anyway, this bores me. Why are we talking about this anyway? I don't consider you an opponent, Izayoi Aki. There is nothing to fight over, I don't think. I mean, I usually get what I want…and it so happens that I want him, right now."

"You don't consider me an opponent? Fine! Then duel me!" Aki screamed, infuriated at this point. So after everything, she wasn't even an opponent to Sherry? What the hell! There was _so_ something to fight over for Aki! There was no way she was going to step back just because some blonde skank told her to!

"Um…so…um…what's going on?" Ruka mumbled, rubbing her eyes.

"Are you serious?" Sherry asked in disbelief but then smirked, getting up to her feet. She had a few inches in height on Aki and she used it to her advantage: her posture was impeccable as she demonstrated confidence and conviction in her stance. "This sounds like fun, actually. Let's duel."

"Okay, break it up – _nobody _duels right now," sounded Ushio's voice and he now stood between the Aki and Sherry, interrupting them. "No, seriously. This is major. We need to notify Yusei right away," Ushio said and the rest of the gang, having just returned, nodded gravely.

In Crow's recovery room, Yusei handed Crow the TV remote after their prolonged search for it. Crow promptly turned on the small TV and started surfing the channels. "Ugh…so hungry," he mumbled, still rubbing his rumbling stomach. As he came across some music channel, Crow absently asked, "So, have you taken Izayoi to the candy shop yet?"

"What candy shop?" Yusei asked, confused.

"You know, _the_ candy shop. You and her. Did you let her lick the lollipop?" Crow, chuckling.

"…Huh?" Yusei inquired again, completely lost. He had no idea what Crow was asking. Unfortunately he wasn't going to get his clarification because all of their friends suddenly stormed into the room.

"Turn on to channel 6," Ushio demanded and grabbed the remote out of Crow's hands, switching to the channel himself, "Watch."

"…after around one hundred and fifty accidents were reported in Neo Domino and Satellite, the government officials passed a ruling today at 2:36am after an urgent conference gathered at Neo Domino SkyDome," the newswoman reported, "Duel Monsters card games have been deemed illegal until further notice, Riding Duels included. Anyone found engaging in such games can receive prison time for as long as six months. Nagasaki Hideo, the Minister of Defense, was quoted saying, "These games have caused over one hundred and fifty deaths and counting over just this week. We ask the civilians not to engage in these dangerous activities until investigation is completed." This decision has been reached with approval of Kaiba Mokuba, the co-owner of Kaiba Corp. And in other news…"

Ushio turned off the TV.

Everybody was completely silent for at least a minute.

"….No more…duels?" Rua whispered inaudibly.

"I think it's time that we ruled out Kaiba Mokuba as a suspect in all this," Yusei said, standing up, "If anybody has any ideas then let's hear them."

"I've got an idea," Aki suddenly said, walking out into everyone's view. "But…_you_ are not going to like it," she whispered, referring to Yusei and to him alone.

* * *

_Oooooh….so weird._

_Yeah, this isn't my favourite chapter because of all the things that were going on and the change of pace and parallel things but I needed to get it out of the way._

_So for next chapter: What is Aki's idea? Will Yusei approve of her idea or disapprove? Will we find out if Mokuba is the true villain of his story or if he's just there to keep things weird? Will we find out what the hell happened to Mahdi? Will the gang still duel even though it's illegal now? Will Aki and Sherry duel for Yusei or will they just ask Yusei to pick? And will we find out what exactly (if anything) happened between Sherry and Yusei?_

_Stay tuned and you (might) find out!_


	13. Chapter 12: Can't catch a break

_Author's Note:_

_So here is chapter 12 of "The Kingdom [be]Comes"!_

_First, I apologize for a long delay. The reason this update took so long was because I wanted to write A LOT in chapter 12…and so I've been writing…and writing…and writing all this time until today I reached 39 (!) pages. Single-spaced. Yes, and I'm still not done! You might be thinking, "WTF" and I agree – I have no idea why it got so big. So I decided to split the huge chapter into __**two**__ – and this is what this is. So Chapter 12 is 12 pages, and Chapter 13 is currently 27 pages and counting (!). _

_So, why didn't I split-up the chapter in two earlier? Because I suck and it occurred to me just five minutes ago. Also, I thought that I'd keep writing it and that it wouldn't be too long…but it just kept getting longer. Also (SPOILER) the whole chapter was setting up for something sexy towards the end of this long changer and I really didn't want to split it: it was building up to SEX._

_Yes, actual sex! But now sex is going to be in Chapter 13 instead of how I imagined it to be in Chapter 12. Freaking fail._

_So here is Chapter 12: it may feel a bit incomplete because, well, it wasn't intended as a separate chapter. So I'm sorry about that. BUT on the bright side – I'm hoping to finish Chapter 13 (since I've already gotten 27 pages written) either today or tomorrow! So you won't have to wait too long! Also, did I mention that Chapter 13 has sex (which I'm writing in another window as we're speaking)? ZOMG._

_Okay, so thank you all for your wonderful compliments, thoughts, questions, insights, feedback, subscriptions, alerts, favourites and reviews! You guys make me so happy! And thank you for being patient!_

_So I hope you enjoy this (filler and not very sexy) chapter!_

_Thank you for reading,_

_**NineInchNailed.**_

_**

* * *

**_

"_**A warrior cannot complain or regret anything. His life is an endless challenge, and challenges cannot possibly be good or bad. Challenges are simply challenges."**_

_~Carlos Castaneda._

_

* * *

_

Aki really, really hated her plan. And she didn't know then just how much she would soon regret it but she was about to find out.

At eight in the morning the following day – after they had all slept all wherever they could at the hospital – she drove up to the ocean harbour. She parked her D-Wheel, and, fixing her hair nervously, made her way towards a tall man with a black ponytail. Mokuba Kaiba was leaning on the railing at the ocean harbour and when he heard Aki approaching him he span around to face her. They were back to the exact same place where Aki first met him and where she duelled for him and lost the life of another human being.

"Good morning, Kaiba-sama," Aki greeted him politely. She didn't forget, of course, how awful and rude he was to Yusei and to all of them the last time she's seen him. But this was not the time to remember and bring up poison.

"Good morning to you too, Aki," he nodded, "Isn't it poetic that I've chosen the same place where we first met?"

"Yes," Aki said, barely suppressing a shudder.

"I knew you were going to contact me, actually," Mokuba said, "When the news aired I was waiting for your phone call and, what a surprise, you called less than five minutes later!"

"Oh..." Aki mumbled, feeling uneasy, "How come you knew, Kaiba-sama?"

"Oh come on, it was obvious. Once the news came out that duelling games are now illegal, I figured that one of you would come running to me in order to get them legalized again. And here you are!" Mokuba explained.

"Yes, you're right, that's why I'm here," she agreed, "I don't think you really comprehend how our whole lives have become dependent on these games, Kaiba-sama. By taking them away, you're taking away our souls..."

Mokuba rolled his eyes in irritation.

"Please," Aki whispered, "There has to be something that could convince you to reinstate them. Please." Just saying those words made her feel repulsed, even though she really wasn't trying to convey any type of sexual intention. She was worried if her words came out sounding like that, though.

"You're all so stupid, you know that?" Mokuba suddenly snapped, raising his voice, "So, so stupid! Do you even _know_ just how many people challenged me to one of those blood duels ever since I got here? _Thirty_. Yes, thirty. I would walk around with heavy security and still people would have the nerve to challenge me! And did you not hear just how many people have _died_ over these games? Do you people even comprehend that people are _dying_ because of duels? And you want them reinstated? Are you serious?"

"Yes, I'm serious," Aki nodded. She felt even more so disgusted with herself, agreeing to all of that. He was right, of course. And, at this point, Aki was completely convinced that Mokuba was not behind any of these duels and that he wasn't controlled by Set. Why would Set care about stopping games and about preventing deaths? Mokuba just happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time, after all. He was also a total bastard but at least he didn't want to kill people. She also knew that it was time that she should begin making her escape now. She found out what she needed to find out.

"You know how refreshing it is not to have a huge entourage of security following you? It's been over a day since I've been challenged to a duel by some blood-thirsty, revenge-seeking vigilante! I can now go outside just by myself!" Mokuba continued, "But you know what...fine. Since I am, after all, in the business of duelling games, this prohibition is obviously affecting my business. So yes, there is something you can do to help me change my mind – to convince me to take money and business over games and lives."

Aki was about to ask, hesitantly, what it is that he had in mind when, to her greatest shock, Mokuba pulled out a gun and aimed it at her.

Aki swallowed in a throat suddenly dry. "Mokuba-san, what are you doing?" she exclaimed, instinctually raising her hands in the air.

"Why don't you...call Fudo Yusei...and tell him to come here and to bring Mutou Yugi's letter and the Egyptian God Card. Because if Fudo is anything like Mutou Yugi - and you better pray that he is - then he will come running here and he will give up everything he has to save one of his friends," Mokuba said, coldly.

_A gun?_ Aki was thinking anxiously, _He's pulled a gun on me? What can I even do now? What am I even supposed to do to get out of this?_ Her plan included her simply meeting with Mokuba (knowing that he liked her the most) and having a, more or less, civil talk about Duel Cards' prohibition in order to fish out if he's in any way related to the Set business. She had no idea that _this_ was going to happen! _I never should have volunteered to meet Mokuba, this was such a bad idea. Although, I guess on the plus side, I'm convinced that he doesn't really have anything to do with the whole Set business. _

"Mokuba-san, why are you doing this?" she asked as she very slowly and cautiously reached for her cell phone and began dialling Yusei's number.

"Just call him and tell him to bring the letter and the card. And to come here. Alone," Mokuba demanded, cocking the trigger on his gun.

Aki heard the slow ringing and then Yusei picking up after a second ring. "What's wrong, Aki?" asked Yusei's voice, as low and as soothing as always. Aki also distinguished undeniable notes of concern.

"Yusei...things have been better," Aki said, watching both Mokuba and that gun barrel very carefully in case he didn't like what she was saying or how, "You have to bring the Sky Dragon of Osiris and Mutou Yugi's letter and to come by yourself. And...hurry." Aki then quickly added, "I'm really sorry, Yusei." She felt awful and like a back-stabbing failure.

"I'll be there in five minutes. And Aki...don't worry about anything," was all Yusei said before the call ended.

"So, what did he say?" Mokuba pressed, still aiming the gun at her.

"He's coming and he's bringing what you want," Aki responded angrily. _I hope Yusei doesn't come. Or I hope that he, at least, won't bring what Mokuba wants. I hope he has a plan and that he doesn't give this bastard Mokuba anything._

Mokuba sighed and enabled the gun's safety trigger. "You needn't be so angry with me, Aki. After all, I wouldn't do anything to harm you: I owe you my life and the Kaiba clan is anything but dishonourable. This gun is just a precaution so that I can finally get what I want from Fudo and get the hell out of here," he explained.

"Lucky me," Aki retorted, slowly and carefully putting her cell phone away.

"I mean I really just _can't wait_ to leave. This whole trip had been terrible. On the bright side, even though I had stopped the greatest income surplus of my brother's empire by criminalizing the duels in this city, I will also have something that he's wanted for years: information on whereabouts of Yugi! My lab will run analyses on the card and the letter and voila!" Mokuba decided to share.

_This guy really likes to ramble on, doesn't he? _Aki thought, _Is it because he doesn't really have anyone to talk to? But who cares, I might as well find out as much as I can. _

"You've told us before that Kaiba Seto used to be a duellist himself, right? So wouldn't he be extremely upset about your decision, not only on the business side, but on the personal side as well?" Aki inquired, deciding to probe as much as she could.

"You know, Aki...I really like you but with comments like these you've been really, really disappointing me," Mokuba growled, "You do _not_ know my brother Seto, and you should never even _presume_ to know him. You couldn't know what it's like to have your _only_ family spending their whole entire lives on card games. I mean, that all sounds great to you, probably. But I never had a normal childhood. It was never fun for me to _play_ duel monsters because duel monsters were all about money and about defeating Mutou Yugi. And then once I had a taste of normal life – you know, _non_-duel school, normal highschool and a university – I saw just how much I really despised this game. And do you think my brother cared? No, he didn't. He forced me to study Business in university so I could take over Kaiba Corporation someday. But did he ever ask me what I wanted to do, what I wanted to study, who I wanted to be in my life? Noooo, of course not. For him, it was always about card games and about Mutou Yugi and about finding new cards and new ways of defeating Mutou Yugi! We have barely exchanged a word in the past three years!"

"Then...why do you care so much about helping him find Mutou Yugi?" Aki pressed, although quite hesitantly at this point. Mokuba now seemed at a dangerous level of rambling on, he seemed very upset and angry. And angering somebody holding a gun was never a good idea.

"Isn't it obvious?" Mokuba barked, "Because if I help him find that damned Mutou Yugi then my brother will finally fight him in a duel after over twenty years! And then, hopefully, after all this time, my brother would _win _against Yugi – especially now that he's without his trusty Atem – and then finally _calm down_ and begin leading a normal life! This is a chance for my brother and I to reunite and to become a family again!"

Aki stared at Mokuba and, to her own surprise, began to feel some pity for him. Obviously Mokuba wasn't a very good man but Seto Kaiba, his older brother, sounded like a real dick. She could actually relate as to how it was to be estranged from one's family. Although her circumstances were miles different from his, and Mokuba was definitely going on about this in _very _wrong ways, Aki still couldn't help feeling sympathy. At the same time, Aki crossed her fingers that Yusei doesn't show up or that he has a better plan rather than handing over the card and the letter to Mokuba.

Then they heard a sound of the approaching, and oh so familiar D-Wheel, and Aki's heart yanked and flattered in her chest. Hearing it she no longer knew if she was upset or _ecstatic_ that Yusei came for her even though of the obvious trap.

"Let's get this over with," Mokuba mumbled, hardening his grip on the gun as he continued targeting Aki.

As Yusei drove up to where Aki told him she will be meeting Mokuba and as he saw what was going on, he gritted his teeth in anger. He drove up here as fast as he could after Aki's worrisome phone call but he had no idea that the situation was _this_ bad. He was glad that he managed to convince all of their friends that nothing was happening because had _all_ of them showed up, Aki would have been in an even greater trouble.

Yusei parked and slowly and cautiously began making his way towards them. He wouldn't do anything to risk Aki's life.

"Stop right there, Fudo," Mokuba ordered and Yusei instantly stopped at the distance of about ten metres away from them. "I want to see that you brought what I've asked for. Show me," Mokuba demanded, and Yusei reached into his pockets where he abruptly stumbled on a pack of Jack's cigarettes and a lighter which he remembered confiscating days ago at the mall. It was then that a much better plan formed in his mind. _For once something good came out of Jack's bad habit_, Yusei thought. He then carefully pulled out the red God card and the folded letter and held them up for Mokuba to see.

_No!_ Aki thought, _No, don't give them to him!_ And then, as if he was reading her mind, Yusei looked at her and gave her one of his confident smiles. It was as if he was telling her not to worry and that he had a plan. _Please do end up having a plan_, Aki still pleaded, biting her lips as she was now becoming extremely anxious with Mokuba's gun, more so for Yusei than for herself. Mokuba may be owing _her_ his life but he didn't owe Yusei anything, especially since he more than once demonstrated his dislike of him.

"Okay, I'm satisfied. Now give them to me and don't do anything funny or the redhead here gets it," Mokuba said and, once again, released the safety on the gun.

Yusei remained absurdly calm on the exterior even though on the inside he was fighting a nervous turmoil for Aki's safety. He clenched the letter and the card in his fist and neared Mokuba and his hostage.

"So?" Mokuba insisted, irritated, as he held his hand out for the card and the letter.

"Do you mind if I smoke?" Yusei suddenly asked, "You're a smoker yourself, aren't you, Mokuba-san? You know how it is sometimes, especially in stressful situations. I could give you one too if you'd like."

Aki's mouth snapped open. _Smoke? Since when does Yusei smoke? _she was thinking. And then, unable to help her relentless desire for him, she began wondering, in the face of danger, what it would be like to make out with a smoker.

Mokuba first frowned, looking like he was about to tell Yusei off, but then he began chewing on his bottom lip as he now apparently wanted a cigarette.

"Okay, fine, but hurry up! Light me one too!" Mokuba finally snarled at him.

Yusei nodded and pulled out two cigarettes, handing Mokuba one and placing the other one into his own mouth. He then flicked the lighter on and lit both of their cigarettes. As Yusei took a drag and tasted the bitter smoke in his mouth he had to fight himself from coughing. _How does Jack like doing this_? he thought, involuntarily. He refused to inhale. He then unnoticeably grabbed the cigarette with the same hand which held both the card and the letter, and hid it behind his back. Mokuba was momentarily too distracted by the force of his smoking habit to notice.

"Whoa, these are good. Which brand are these?" Mokuba asked as he took long drags out of his cigarette although he still held his gun firmly

"Marlboro Classic," Yusei responded, completely making it up. "Oh...oops," he suddenly said as he held up Yugi Mutou's letter to Mokuba. It was quickly burning up from the cigarette fire. Sky Dragon of Osiris, however, was safe in Yusei's back pocket.

Aki gasped.

"No!" Mokuba screamed and Yusei quickly dropped the burning letter, causing Mokuba to fall to his knees as well. "No! No! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?" Mokuba was screaming as he tried to put out the fire with his hands and piece the ashes together into something even remotely resembling paper.

Yusei took those few seconds of Mokuba's disarray to kick the gun out of Mokuba's hand. And then, right as Mokuba noticed what was going on and hurriedly stood up, Yusei slammed his fist into Kaiba Corp. heir's face with all his strength. There was a cracking sound. So powerful was Yusei's fury and so unprepared was Mokuba for that punch that he fell back nearly two metres from the impact.

"Don't ever threaten any of my friends ever again," Yusei demanded, his blue eyes cold and slit with unbelievable anger.

Aki, meanwhile, rushed to pick up the heavy gun and threw it, as far as she could, into the ocean. She then ran to stand by Yusei's side and the two of them now stared down at the billionaire mogul struggling to get up on his feet.

"You'll pay for this, Fudo. No, _both_ of you will pay for this," Mokuba growled, his voice slightly nasal as he held on to his broken nose, "Do you even know who I am? The people I know? The influence I am capable of?"

"Mokuba-san, stop it!" Aki shouted as she moved to stand in front of Yusei, as if shielding him, "These are not the means for reconciliating with your brother! Talking with him, voicing your concerns..._these_ are the ways of stopping your anger _not_ hurting other people! And, also, you said you _owe_ me your life, have you not? Then you don't owe me anything as long as you never come near _any of us_ again, do you understand? Now please, just go back home to your brother and leave all of us be!"

"Aki..." Yusei whispered as he stared at her, unable to believe her strength and conviction, and the power and the truth in her voice.

As Aki's words hung in the air, Mokuba, at first, looked like he was about to scream and let all hell break loose. And then he looked like he was about to call on SWAT to detain them. And then he looked sad and confused. Finally, after a long minute of silence and frustrated puffing Mokuba drew in a deep breath and notified them of his decision. "You speak wisdom, Izayoi Aki," he said, his tone of voice defeated but acidic, "I will take your suggestion and I will attempt to follow it through. However, do mark my words: if that should fail, I will come back here and I will hunt all of you down unless Fudo surrenders Mutou's God card. Consider my favour to you repaid, Aki. Also, whether you want it or not, I'm not helping them remove the current card games prohibition: I am still a moral man and this law is necessary one. So are we clear?"

"Thank you for your decision," Aki conceded, although rather bitterly. Regardless, she decided not to play it aggressively – as long as they had Mokuba off their tail for good she didn't care. These were just words, after all.

"If I never see your face again, Mokuba-san, it would be too soon," was all Yusei said. He felt that Aki was being too nice but he understood why she was saying that. He also felt like he was saying the kindest words he could ever master for Mokuba but they really didn't need any additional active enemies with the Ancient God of Chaos currently running around.

"The feeling is mutual, Fudo," Mokuba responded, his face still distorted into an ugly scowl.

Silently, Yusei motioned to Aki that it was time that they make their leave.

"Good-bye, Kaiba Mokuba, I wish you well," was the last thing Aki said to him. Mokuba just nodded his head to her, rigidly.

Still carefully watching for any unpleasant surprises Mokuba might pull, Aki and Yusei made it to their D-Wheels and were off and away, both of them hoping never to have an encounter like this again. And they were also completely unaware that once they had left, Mokuba picked up his cell phone and made a few calls. "One small thing to do before I leave never to come back," Mokuba mumbled as he dialled the numbers, "It's only fair."

Aki followed Yusei, not knowing where they were going now. She was riding a bit behind him and to make time pass faster Aki decided to follow Yusei's D-Wheel's every move and to attempt at repeating them. What better way to learn than to rehearse the moves of somebody who was a (sexy) master at Riding Duels? So she drew in a deep breath and concentrated, first carefully observing his D-Wheel take sharp turns on the highway and accelerate at certain areas and then trying to do the same. A few acceleration points and sharp turns she did exemplary well, others…not so much as evident by tire skids showing up on the pavement.

Yusei was oblivious to her "fun" for about a minute until he checked her out in his mirrors and noticed her trailing after him. He couldn't help a grin as he looked over his shoulder, catching her gaze. God, he could have so much fun playing with her like this. Ultimately, that had to wait until later.

Yusei lead them back to Crow's hospital. It was Crow's checkout today: the doctors suggested that he stays under watch longer but Crow refused. The hospital looked relieved as well, however: all the personnel had been driven to such maddening fatigue from tending to all the victims of sacrificial duels that having people leaving healthy was a blessing for them.

Yusei slowed down once they reached the parking lot and parked promptly, dismounting his D-Wheel and taking off his helmet, and watching Aki as she did the same. The more he observed her the more he realized just how natural she was for Riding Duels. She was still learning but everything she had already mastered she did with such elegance and skill that he, believed, surpassed anyone's he's ever met, including his own. She was born to do this.

Aki neared him, still neurotically fixing her hair which always became electrolysed under the helmet, and stared up at his hair, rolling her eyes. His hair was always perfect and looking so gorgeous appeared to come completely effortless to him. Yusei didn't seem to notice any neuroticism on her behalf. Instead, he said, "I never should have agreed to let you go on and meet him. I knew it was dangerous and yet I let you go on with it. I'm sorry, Aki. You could have been seriously hurt."

Aki shook her head, reaching up to gently graze her hand against his cheek, "Don't blame yourself for anything, Yusei: it was my plan and my choice. What's life without risk? And I didn't get hurt... He wouldn't have hurt me regardless, so everything is fine. You needn't unnecessarily burden yourself with what hadn't happened."

Yusei exhaled, apparently having held his breath awaiting for her response, and nodded.

"You've burnt Mutou Yugi's letter," Aki suddenly said, completely changing the topic.

"That I did. What was important was the content of the letter, the meaning of the words, not the letter itself," he justified, "Besides, I knew that it would get a rise out of him and get him to lose his concentration."

"Your predicting abilities sometimes border on psychic..." she said, laughing, "Is there anyone you can't read?"

Yusei smiled. "You, sometimes."

_Oh god_, Aki thought as she realized that her face went bright red in a flash of a second. "You can't be serious...I mean, _look_!" she mumbled, feeling embarrassed, and pointed at her flushed cheeks, "This isn't make-up blush powder!"

"What?" Yusei asked, looking at her genuinely puzzled. What was he supposed to be looking at? What was she saying?

Aki drew in a breath and somehow mastered up some courage to move closer to him and to reach up on her tiptoes to his lips. "Yusei, I'm like an open book around you..." Aki explained, her whisper almost inaudible, kissed him shyly and lightly and then pulled back to look at him.

"Well, if you put it this way...then yes, sometimes you can be," he whispered and Aki's knees almost buckled when he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her in for another kiss, that of passion and urgency.

By the time they managed to make it upstairs into the actual hospital wing, Aki's lips were swollen from all the kissing and she assumed that she must smell like a sensual mix of cologne and car oil - his scent - at this point. And Yusei tasted fruit flavoured lipgloss in his mouth – the one he kissed off her lips in less than five seconds – and, additionally, sensed Aki's usual strawberry perfume all over himself, the one he found beyond intoxicating.

They entered Crow's recovery just to find the whole gang there in addition to the attending doctor. Carly and Jack stood next to the window and were engaged in some private conversation (with Carly doing most of the talking); Bruno was showing Saiga some gadget while Sherry sat beside them, looking bored; Ushio was thoughtfully staring up at the ceiling; Mikage was saying something funny to twins Rua and Ruka; And Crow was complaining to the doctor about the wheelchair in front of him. Everybody looked in their direction when they walked in and showered them with questions about today's meeting with Mokuba.

"He's Set after all, isn't he? I knew it!" Rua exclaimed.

"Did he legalize duels?" Jack asked.

"Aki-san, did everything go smoothly for you?" Ruka asked.

"Yusei, where did you go?" Sherry asked.

"Did you see the new duelling odds pocket-index?" Bruno asked and Saiga added, "Yeah!"

"Did Kaiba-san explain the reasons behind his decision?" Ushio asked and Mikage added, "Because this duel cards' ban will make him lose a lot of money."

"I can walk fine, I don't need a wheelchair!" Crow said, completely ignoring Yusei and Aki as he continued, instead, arguing over hospital policy.

Yusei and Aki hurriedly responded everything they could but avoided mentioning, however, the part with the gun as well as answering Sherry's question.

It was additional twenty minutes before they all wheeled out frustrated Crow: he continued bitching and moaning over having to be in a wheelchair until he's out of the hospital premises, a mandatory hospital policy. So the second he was out of the hospital doors, Crow jumped out of the chair and ran up to his D-Wheel, beginning to shower it with kisses.

"I missed you, baby...I hope nobody touched you while I was away..." Crow was murmuring lovingly.

"If only you spoke that same way to a woman then you'd probably have relationships lasting longer than two weeks," Jack chuckled.

"Hey, shut up!" Crow retorted, "I so _had_ relationships longer than that! Besides, nowadays there is always Ashanti and...OH MY GOD!"

"What happened?" they all asked, worriedly.

"OH MY GOD!" Crow exclaimed while pointing at the palm of his hand, "Her phone number! She wrote her phone number on my hand a day ago! And it got erased! NOOOO!"

Everybody either let out sighs of annoyance or rolled their eyes over a false alarm.

"Seriously...that's it? You know you can just ask Sherry to give it to you. I'm sure she'll help out," Saiga mumbled.

"Oh..." was all Crow could say. In a moment he ran up to Sherry and looked at her with puppy eyes and a sweet smile.

"I guess I'll oblige," Sherry smiled, "But before calling her up you should probably know her _actual_ name. It's not Ashanti, it's Mirabelle."

Casual conversations resumed while the whole gang walked with Crow to his apartment, which was very close to the hospital, while wheeling their D-Wheels along. And then, as they turned around the corner onto Crow's street, the world became just a tiny bit darker for all of them:

Crow's apartment building was on fire.

Furthermore, it looked like the explosion had just happened, because only then did all of them hear approaching sirens and screams all around them. They, however, resumed standing in complete silence for minutes to come, watching the inferno before them with mouths wide open.

Crow was the first to speak. He didn't scream, he didn't wail, he didn't punch anyone or anything. Instead, he said, quietly, "And now the kingdom comes, crashing down...undone. And I am a master of a nothing place, of recoil and grace." The tongues of scorching flames reflected in his gray, but now watery and thus almost transparent, eyes.

"Who said that?" Aki asked, painfully watching the firefighters trying to put out the fire.

"Smashing Pumpkins," Crow responded, not looking at anyone, "It means that I have nothing now. And it also means that I don't think that this was an ordinary act but, perhaps, an act in an unfortunate chain of events that are just building up to a showdown with the angry Ancient Egyptian Deity. Basically, nothing good is to come. We're all in for a fun ride."

Ushio picked up on the voices on his cracking walkie-talkie, and said, gravely, "Guys...this isn't the only place to catch fire tonight."

They all drove urgently this time and were horrified to find out that Yusei's and Jack's and Carly's places were also burnt to the ashes. Unimaginable anger pumped sickening hatred in their veins: they all knew in an instant who did this and why.

"But why just these guys' homes?" Sherry inquired.

"Because he didn't like them and/or because they stood up to him when he was being an asshole," Saiga explained.

"But why not me?" Aki whispered, feeling horribly guilty. She didn't know whether that guilt came from the fact that she might have pushed Mokuba to do this or if it was because her family possessions were the richest...and they were intact.

"Because he liked you and because you're the senator's daughter. He wouldn't dare get into politics especially after approving on the duel prohibition," Yusei was the one to give an explanation this time. He touched Aki's shoulder, as if telling her not to worry and not to take this as a horrible thing but rather as the truth.

"You guys can stay with me at the hotel," Sherry suggested, "It's all paid for expenses and-"

"No, it's only fair that they stay with me," Aki interrupted, "There is a lot of space in my home. My father would be more than happy to welcome all of you."

Sherry and Aki looked at each other angrily.

"Actually...do you guys mind if I bring up a suggestion?" Bruno spoke up timidly.

"Go ahead, Bruno," prompted Yusei.

"Wouldn't it be safer to go for a place that's unknown and unpredictable to Kaiba? There is this one place we could go to...and there is no way he'd figure out that this was our choice, in any case," Bruno said.

"You don't mean..." Jack uttered hesitantly.

"But he does!" Crow exclaimed, having regained a bit of his usual eagerness.

"Poppo Time garage," Yusei concluded and sighed, rubbing his tired eyes.

* * *

_So holy shit, now they're all going to be roommates! How fun! Mmmm…so many fun things to write about (and imply)! By the way, if you don't know/remember what Poppo Time Garage is - it's where Jack, Crow and Yusei live in the anime right after the Dark Signers arc. Bruno also joined them there in a couple of episodes. _

_So here is what you __**should**__ (definitely) expect for Chapter 13 (which should be up today or tomorrow): a brief Sherry vs. Aki duel (this was suggested by __**fabrefan**__ and I freaking loved it!), lots of sexual conversations, more sexual conversations, then some sad stuff, and then…(maybe, possibly, hopefully, supposedly) SEX. _

_And here is what you __**shouldn't **__expect for Chapter 13: anymore Mokuba. Mokuba sucks, I hate him and I won't bring him back (at least not for a looooong time). So I think he's gone for good after fucking up their lives. And, also, don't expect any actual plot exposition. _

_Stay tuned! _


	14. Chapter 13: In pleasure and in pain

_Author's Note:_

_I present to you the Chapter 13 of "The Kingdom [be]Comes"! _

_I really have to apologize for falling off the radar and not updating the chapter after promising to update it within a day. For some reason it was more difficult to write than I thought it would. Additionally, university coupled with part-time work have been really exhausting me these two weeks. _

_But here is the end result: it's 38 pages (single-spaced) so I'm quite glad that I ended up splitting up this chapter in two... _

_Lastly, I want to thank everyone for your reviews, thoughts, alerts, subscriptions and favourites...you guys make me so happy :). And now that this chapter is done I'll be able to reply to some questions posed by you. _

_So thank you for reading and for being patient, and I hope you enjoy this chapter!_

_**NineInchNailed.**_

_**Warning**__: I think that it's quite obvious but this fanfiction is rated __**M**__ for a reason – in case all the swearing, sexual innuendos and some violence didn't make it clear earlier, this chapter does. So don't read the end of the chapter if you're offended by sex or if you're underage...or you can read it but just not tell your parents. Because seriously...why would you tell your parents? O.o_

_

* * *

_

"_**Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away"**_

_~Anonymous._

_

* * *

_

_Seven months earlier..._

Sherry sighed and absently combed her long hair with her fingers. It was no use because the heavy wind continued tangling it up mercilessly. In a minute she heard the approaching sound of a D-Wheel and she didn't look like she cared anymore: she looked in its direction and grinned, removing her sunglasses.

Yusei parked and dismounted his D-Wheel, hurriedly removing his helmet as he ran up to Sherry. "Sherry, is it true? Are you leaving?" he called out.

"Yes, it is true," she nodded and turned to look towards the magnitude of warm colours that the setting sun played on the horizon, "Why wouldn't it be, Yusei? It's been many months since the damned Yliaster was blown to kingdom come and my parents' death has been avenged...my mission is complete, wouldn't you say? And I don't even have a reason to stick around since there are no new tournaments coming up any time soon."

"Yes, but..." Yusei started.

"It's time that I go back home, Yusei," Sherry said, "It's where I belong...unless..." she turned and faced him now, "Unless you give me a reason to stay."

Yusei was startled by her question. He stared at her, completely taken back. _What does she want me to say? _he was thinking, _It's obvious that I don't want to lose a friend...not now or ever. _

"Sherry," he began, "We might have had our differences earlier on but you quickly became one of my friends. I treasure our friendship and-"

Yusei didn't get to finish his sentence because his voice got hushed by Sherry's kiss. His eyes widened and he gasped, and his gasp, inexplicably, became consent for Sherry to dip her velvety tongue into his mouth.

Yusei had no idea what to do. He couldn't even really think because, inexplicably, all he could think about was the taste of Sherry's lipgloss. _Is that strawberry_, he was guessing, _No, it's peach. Definitely peach. Although perhaps mixed with strawberry. Doesn't Aki have that strawberry-scented perfume or something? She wears it often as of recently. _

Somehow thinking about that brought his common sense flooding in. He quickly broke the kiss and pulled back. "I don't think that's a good idea, Sherry," he mumbled. It wasn't like he didn't find Sherry attractive because he did, he really did - she _was_ very pretty - and it wasn't like the kiss wasn't good – no, it was _great_, in fact – but...kissing Sherry just felt really, really weird to him.

"I actually think it's one of my better ideas," she purred, her voice low and seductive. She reached out to cup his face and to go for another kiss but he caught her wrists and silently shook his head.

This time Sherry stared at him and discontent creased her features. She pulled her hands to herself, instantly breaking away from his grasp. "What's wrong, Yusei? Is it because I'm too forward and you like to make the first move? Is that it?" she inquired.

"No, it's just that I don't think about you that way," Yusei confessed, truthfully. He felt bad for saying this but he was always honest: pretty or not, he had never really thought about Sherry in any other way than his friend. And, to be fair, he wasn't completely platonic about her either...like, he never considered her to be "one of the guys," or felt like asking her for advice on women... But he just never had any sexual fantasies about her or any erotic dreams like he's had about other women...or another one of his female friends, in particular. Either way, this was just different.

Sherry visibly flinched and quickly looked away. But then, for whatever bizarre reason, she smirked.

"Yusei, I want you to leave with me," she suddenly said.

Once again, Yusei was taken aback. "Leave?" he asked.

"Yes, leave. With me," her magnetic green eyes pierced into him, "You've never been outside of Japan, have you? It's a whole different world out there, Yusei, full of wonders and adventures... The metropolis of the Big Apple, the sunny Hawaiian beaches, the snowy Caucasus mountains, the ancient ruins of the Aztec empire, the majestic Egyptian pyramids...all those places to see, to experience..." Sherry paused and took advantage of his bewilderment by reaching out and touching his face, "Yusei, if you come with me, you will see and experience life like never before. I will show you the magical and sensual France, my home, and then the neighbouring Austria...we could go anywhere in the world, anywhere we'd like."

Yusei found himself at the total loss of words. His mind was racing.

"I know it's a lot to ask. And that's okay, you don't have to make up your mind now. I'm going to come back to Japan in a couple of months...I'm going to come back for you, tiger. And you better have made up your mind by then. About leaving with me. And about _me_. Because..." she leaned closer and began murmuring into his ear, quietly and seductively. Her hot breath and her alluring tone of voice sent goosebumps down his spine. "Because I _know_ you find me attractive, Yusei," Sherry whispered, "I've seen you looking at me, and I've seen _how_ you've looked at me. But since you've always had a lot on your plate I don't think you know yet what you want. So you have some time to think over my words...and to decide on what it is you really desire, Yusei."

Sherry then pulled back and, taking advantage of his stunned silence, planted another kiss on his lips, before she began making her way towards her D-Wheel.

"You better wait for me, you stud," she uttered her last words and gave him one of her signature smirks. She then blew him a kiss and sped off towards the airport.

About an hour later, when Yusei finished telling Crow and Jack what happened with Sherry, Crow asked him, concerned, "How difficult was it to resist that offer, Yusei?"

Yusei shook his head, "I belong here, Crow, and I always will. And I don't think my opinion will ever change."

"Yeah, but...dude...traveling around the world and banging Sherry...I mean, she couldn't have been any more straightforward about her intentions," Crow continued, seemingly unable to believe Yusei's indifference.

Yusei just smiled, his whole attention suddenly directed to the group of people at the distance. It was all their friends and, among them, Aki. Yusei waved, enthusiastically, and began making his way towards them.

"So he's gay, right?" Jack muttered once Yusei was too far away to hear.

"No, not at all, man," Crow thoughtfully responded, "I think that it's all just a matter of simple preference. You see, I don't think he prefers blondes as much as he prefers, say, _redheads_...if you catch my drift." Crow then cleared his throat and inconspicuously motioned to Aki on the distance. Aki was laughing, wholeheartedly, as the twins tickled her, and Yusei was watching her with a smile.

"Oh," Jack said and sighed, rolling his eyes, "Of course."

"Yeah...it's okay, man," Crow said, chuckling as he patted Jack's shoulder, "I know you're just upset for striking out with him... being blonde and all, haha."

* * *

_Present day..._

It was closer to 9pm of that same day that the tired group of friends finished moving (what little they had left) into a small but blissful sanctuary of their late teen years. Zora, the superintendent of Poppo Time, welcomed them back with open arms and excited squeals.

"Yusei-chan, I knew you would come back!" Zora was exclaiming, "I've heard about the unfortunate fires breaking out in the city this morning...it's so horrible that it had to happen to you, Yusei-chan!"

Yusei smiled, gratefully, while Crow coughed delicately and expectantly looked at Zora as he awaited to hear the same heartfelt greeting for himself.

Zora looked at Crow as if noticing him for the first time and her smile faded. "Oh, it's you," was all she said and then walked away.

"Ugh, she's always been like that to me! Even after I helped her reconcile with her son!" Crow complained.

"It's okay, you'll forget all about it in five seconds," Jack estimated.

"You know what could help me get over it? A cup of Ramen noodles..." Crow suggested.

"No, fuck you!" Jack snapped, "They're _my_ noodles!"

"If we have to be living together again you're going to have to share!" Crow yelled.

"No, they're _my_ noodles!" Jack repeated.

"Okay, break it up you two," Carly sighed, rolling her eyes. Aki just laughed, utterly amused.

Rua and Ruka yawned, exhausted after such an eventful day. "Can we go to sleep early today?" Rua pleaded.

"How unheard of! You usually do everything in your power to stay up all night!" Ruka giggled, "But yeah, I agree."

There were going to be the eight of them living at Poppo Time for an indeterminate amount of time: Yusei, Jack, Crow and Bruno – the original four occupants – and then Carly, Rua and Ruka, and Aki. Rua and Ruka were believed to be in a vulnerable situation as well, being the youngest and having no supervision, and thus they agreed to move in until the whole thing blows over. And Aki...well, technically she didn't _have_ to move in – being that she still had her house and that she was in Mokuba's favour – but she still insisted. "Guys, you never know what might happen – what if Mokuba changes his mind or what if my father decides to overturn the dueling prohibition?" Aki was saying, hoping to put up a nice case. Living with all her friends was something she always wanted to do - even if this had happened as a result of unfortunate circumstances – and sleeping, every day, in a room across from Yusei's...who knows what could happen after a couple of days? Nervous or not, a single thought of what could happen made Aki so excited that she didn't know how she could keep herself from jumping up and down and clapping her hands together.

Yusei, himself, wasn't actually very excited to live with roommates again – even if they were his best friends – especially after all the privacy he had when he had begun living alone. But things had to be and he had to make the best of them. That's why he was _more_ than glad to accept Aki living there – she would be so close everyday...every night...and perhaps, eventually, even closer... – but the other guys were a bit more reluctant.

"Dude, our bachelor atmosphere will be ruined with Carly and Aki," Crow complained.

"You mean the total sausage fest," Jack smirked.

"I don't really care," Bruno admitted.

"But...hot chicks..." Crow continued, ignoring both of them, "So now it's like we're going to be on college residence...hmm...Okay, never mind! This is a great idea! Let's go buy some booze and party all night long, every night! As long as Rua and Ruka are asleep, of course."

Yusei gave him a thumbs up and all of them helped carry Aki's stuff into the room: Aki was going to share room with Rua and Ruka, the room which was previously Crow's; Jack and Carly got Jack's old room ("Don't forget to put a sock on the door knob," laughed Crow and Jack smacked him); Yusei got his old room back and he didn't have to share it with anyone – and nobody questioned it; and Bruno and Crow would crash on two mattresses in the basement/garage.

So at nine in the evening the eight of them were all sitting inside the basement-turned-garage and sipping some hot chocolate with the exception of Jack who was eating some Ramen noodles.

"Okay, I can't take it anymore, I'm going to sleep," Rua mumbled after having yawned at least twenty times in the past five minutes.

"Me too," Ruka yawned. Carly agreed to do the same after all the contagious yawning.

And then there were five left: Yusei, Bruno, Jack, Crow and Aki. Some sexual tension hung in the air. Aki felt a bit peculiar being the only girl left – they were all friends and harmless of course but they were all also _very _horny young adults, herself included.

"So, um...you guys want to play a game?" she asked, nervously drumming her fingers on her cup of chocolate. She couldn't stop eyeing Yusei and the few times they made eye contact she looked away quickly, pretending like she hasn't at all been oggling him. Their make-out sessions got heavier and steamier with every day and her mind played out all these erotic scenarios which generally included him sweeping her off her feet, throwing her on some bed and then making love to her for hours on-end. There was also candlelight, wind blowing through his hair, oceanwaves in the background and it usually rained outside as she imagined it.

"How about Spin the Bottle," Crow suggested, grinning at Aki.

Aki snapped out of her dirty thoughts and blushed so hard to Crow's suggestion that her face blended in with her hair. But…was it kind of bad if she actually _really _wanted to play this? Especially since it was just her…and all these guys...

"Great plan, Crow, considering we only have one girl," Jack muttered, "Also, we don't have a bottle. Also, I'm not kissing dudes. And also, I'm not cheating on Carly."

"I was going to test my odds for one girl..." Crow explained and winked playfully at Aki.

Yusei rolled his eyes. He wondered if he should just ask to see Aki alone and then proceed from there...after all, Crow knew everything already and wouldn't really care. But...did Jack? Yusei was about eighty percent sure that Jack knew because Crow usually told Jack everything. And Bruno? It didn't really matter what Bruno knew or didn't, actually.

"Gosh, this might be kind of weird," Bruno said.

"You think?" Jack sighed.

"Okay, okay, I have a better idea! Are you ready, are you ready – TRUTH OR DARE!" Crow shouted. He even jumped up to his feet in excitement.

_Wow, that's an amazing idea_, Aki thought, _I'll get to find out some dirty secrets about all of them! And, especially, Yusei...I do wonder some things, after all._

_That's actually not too bad, _Yusei thought, _I wouldn't mind getting dared to do stuff to Aki. Or daring her to do something…_

Unfortunately, nobody got to find out juicy gossip about anyone or to suck on anyone's tongue because there was a sudden knock on the front door and then Sherry made an entrance.

_Ugh!_ Aki thought.

"So, guys, how was the move-in?" she asked, bringing out a big bag of donuts, cookies and like goodies.

Crow instantly jumped at the delicious provisions. "It wasn't too bad," he replied, mouthful, "But oh my god, you're here at the best time ever, Sherry! We're about to play a sexy game! You must join us!"

_Fuck no! _Aki thought.

Sherry looked around the room and laughed, "What a terrible ratio! Just what were you thinking of doing if I didn't get here?"

"Why are you here, Sherry?" Aki asked bluntly and her annoyed expression betrayed the casualness in her voice.

Sherry stared at her and her amused smile changed to a mocking smirk. "What, I can't stop by and see my friends, Izayoi Aki? But to be honest, I did come here for a purpose: I need to talk to Yusei about something private," she answered, and turned to look at Yusei, smiling sweetly at him.

_There is no way_, Aki thought, _You're not going anywhere private with him! _

_I knew this was coming_ _even though I really wanted to avoid it_, Yusei thought, _But Sherry deserves to know, having waited so long. My decision will probably be like a slap on the face to her but, unfortunately, this has to be done. _

"Sure," Yusei responded and was about to get up to his feet when all of a sudden Aki jumped up and screamed, "Sherry, I want to talk to _you_ first. It is very important!"

Sherry stared at her, appearing calm, but Aki was perceptible enough to women to notice her angry eyes. "Fine," Sherry responded, her voice quiet and acidic.

Aki nodded and made her way outside, motioning Sherry to follow her which she promptly did. They closed the door behind them leaving the four guys by themselves.

"Why do I get a feeling that those girls don't like each other? Were they always like this?" Bruno asked and scratched his head.

"Yeah, what's up with that? I have absolutely no idea why they could dislike each other!" Crow exclaimed, faking his confusion, and turned to stare at Yusei, "Do you have an idea, Yusei?" he asked innocently.

Now Jack and Bruno joined in to staring at him.

"You all know exactly why, so stop with the act," Yusei sighed.

"You're right, I know everything," Jack admitted and opened a new cup of Ramen.

"But...I don't know anything…what's going on, again?" Bruno said, timidly.

"See? Bruno doesn't know! So now you have to tell the whole thing – and you have to start from the beginning!" Crow said, being very obviously amused.

Crow could be such a dick sometimes and right now Yusei's fist kind of ached to punch him. Crow knew that he didn't like talking about his personal life and especially when it came to talking about feelings or Aki, and yet he always insisted! And seriously, who cared if Bruno knew or didn't know about his personal endeavours? But he couldn't just say that, it'd be really bad.

"Okay, fine," Yusei consented but he was very annoyed, "I guess the whole story starts with Aki…"

Meanwhile, Sherry and Aki stood outside and hissed at each other like a pair of pissed off cats.

"Could you stop wasting my time?" Sherry asked.

"Maybe you should take your own advice and stop wasting your _own_ time!" Aki retorted.

"Oh please!" Sherry said and let out a melodious laugh, flipping her luscious blonde hair. Aki imagined herself pulling out all that stupid yellow hair and it was beyond satisfying.

"Yes, _please_ – I feel bad for you because you're coming off as really desperate," Aki responded.

"Oh, _I'm_ desperate? At least I know what I want and I go for it instead of just hanging around for years and hoping that he'd notice me!" Sherry responded, then stared at Aki's chest and laughed even louder, "Oh my god, is that why your boobs are always falling out of your top? Are you just trying to get him to notice you? Come on, could you be trying any harder? It's pathetic but_ so_ hilarious!"

"You cow! At least I'm his age and not, like, _thirty_! Talking about being desperate…it's creepy!" Aki screamed, instinctually crossing her arms over her chest and hiding her cleavage, feeling embarrassed by Sherry's words.

Sherry's laughing seized like it was never there and she looked beyond angry. "I'm _twenty four_, you stupid cow!" Sherry screamed.

Aki was taken aback by the simplicity and anger of Sherry's response. Sherry was usually quite collected and never seemed the type to resort to petty insults or be irked by them. Apparently this was the side of Sherry none of them had yet a chance to witness.

"No, _you're_ a stupid cow!" Aki screamed in response, unable to think of anything better.

"No, _you_ are!" Sherry screamed.

"Duel me and we'll see who the stupid cow is!" Aki shouted.

"This just proves that_ you're_ the stupid cow because it's illegal!" Sherry blurted out.

"No, you're just afraid that your stupid knights-in-armour-whatever-the-hell-it-is deck will get destroyed by my deck!" Aki cried out.

"You think your weak plants can take on my Fleur Knight deck? Oh, you're on!" Sherry growled.

The two girls jumped as far away from each other as possible and activated their duel disks, right then and there, in the open plaza right outside of Poppo Time. Thankfully and conveniently they still carried their duel disks with them due to the usual routine before the prohibition.

"Duel!" both of them declared and their Life Points stats showed up.

"You can take the first turn: you should probably take any advantage you can if you want to last longer than two turns against me," Aki said.

"Clever but we all know that it's better to go second and to counterattack knowing what the opponent has on the field!" Sherry said.

"You're just afraid that I'll be able to read through your strategy on your first turn!" Aki said.

"And you're just afraid that if you go first that you'll end up _losing _on that first turn!" Sherry said.

"Take the first turn you stupid cow, I don't want it!" Aki screamed, unable to keep herself from throwing insults at this irritating blonde.

"No, you take it! I don't want it either!" Sherry screamed.

"You take it!"

"No, you take it!"

"No, _you_ take it!"

"No way, _you_ take it!"

"Okay, FINE, I'll take it!" Aki screamed, "Watashi no turn!"

[Aki Izayoi]

[**Beginning of Turn One**: 0 Monsters; 0 Cards on Field; 6 Cards in hand; LP4000]

"I summon Rose Fairy to Defence Mode," Aki said and a tiny fairy monster (Level 3) appeared on the field, its attack at 300 and defence 1200 points.

"I then place two cards face down on the field and end my turn," she concluded and two cards appeared.

[Aki Izayoi]

[**End of Turn One**: Rose Fairy (Lvl.3) ATK300/DEF1200 in Defence Mode; 2 Face down Cards; 3 Cards in hand; LP4000]

Sherry faked a yawn, "How boring!"

Aki grimaced at her.

Sherry rolled her eyes, "Watashi no turn!" and drew a card.

[Sherry LeBlanc]

[**Beginning of Turn One**: 0 Monsters; 0 Cards on Field; 6 Cards in hand; LP4000]

Sherry stared at the card she just drew and smirked.

"I summon Sacred Knight Jeanne into attack mode!" she said and a knight monster (Level 4) appeared, its attack at 1900 and defence at 1300 points, "Sacred Knight Jeanne will now obliterate your monster! Sacred Knight, attack!"

Aki quickly flipped up once of her face down cards, "I activate my trap card, Rose Blizzard – when my monster is selected as an attack target I can switch the attacking monster to defence mode."

The knight-monster stopped its attack and switched to defence mode showing its slightly inferior 1300 points compared to 1900 attack points.

"Then set down two face down cards and now I end my turn," Sherry said.

[Sherry LeBlanc]

[**End of Turn One**: Sacred Knight Jeanne (Lvl.4) ATK1900/DEF1300 in Defence Mode; 2 Face down Cards; 3 Cards in hand; LP4000]

"Are you serious? That's it? You try attacking my defence monster, you fail, and that's it?" Aki asked, incredulous, "And you call _me_ boring?"

"You just wasted a useful trap card to protect a weak monster!" Sherry answered angrily.

"That's because I'm not stupid and I have a strategy!" Aki retorted.

"Or maybe you're stupid and you only think you have a strategy," Sherry chuckled.

"Okay, shut up because your stupid manly voice is driving me up the wall! Do you take steroids or something?" Aki asked and giggled.

"Oh yeah, god forbid I don't sound like a whiny chipmunk like you do!" Sherry screamed.

"Shut up! It's my turn and I draw a card!" Aki snapped and drew a card, declaring her next turn.

* * *

Inside Poppo Time, Yusei finally finished telling them everything.

"What a great story," Crow said as he picked out another cookie from the bag, "It was kind of funny too."

"How was it in _any_ way funny?" Yusei inquired.

"You know, you obsessing about all the bad things that could come out of dating Aki – I mean come on!" Crow said, "You know what's the one thing that should have trumped all your doubts and thoughts about consequences – sex. Lots of sex. And with not just anyone but Aki, one of the hottest chicks ever."

Yusei sighed. "Of course, that's all there is to it. Just what was I thinking by not thinking _just_ about that," he said, sarcastically.

"Well, of course it's not _all_ there is but it's one of the most important and decision-impacting things _ever_!" Crow said.

"He does have a point there..." Jack mumbled.

"Dude, I always have a _point _when I'm around Aki if you know what I mean!" Crow laughed, "A _very _pants-busting point."

"Too much info..." Bruno whispered.

"Watch it, Crow," Yusei warned him. There was only so much of this kind of talk that he was willing to hear.

"Well it's true! But yeah, sex can solve everything sometimes – I mean look at your other problem: the whole picking between Sherry and Aki, right? Dude...dude...I have one word for you. Are you ready? It's THREESOME," Crow exclaimed.

Yusei rolled his eyes. Sometimes discussing anything with these guys was completely useless. Every conversation with Crow, regardless of how it started, usually ended with talking about sex. Besides, it's not like he had any problems picking between Sherry and Aki. He had picked already.

"That'd be...quite hot," Bruno mumbled.

"So, so hot...Sherry and Aki would make out and everything...wow..." Jack added.

Yusei shook his head in disbelief and closed his eyes, rubbing his temples.

* * *

[Aki Izayoi]

[**Beginning of Turn Two**: Rose Fairy (Lvl.3) ATK300/DEF1200 in Defence Mode; 1 Face down Card; 4 Cards in hand; LP4000]

Aki looked at the card she drew and smiled.

"First I play a continuous magic card, Ivy Shackles – all of your monsters are now Plant-type monsters!" Aki said and watched as ivy vines appeared and consumed Sherry's Sacred Knight Jeanne.

"Okay..." Sherry mumbled.

"And now I release my Rose Fairy to Advance Summon Rose Tentacles in attack mode!" she exclaimed and a monster (Level 6) in a shape of a colossal rose appeared on the field, its attack 2200 and its defence 1200 points.

"And now, Rose Tentacles attack Sacred Knight Jeanne!" Aki said, "Thorn whip attack!"

But before her monster was able to destroy Sherry's monster, Sherry flipped up one of her face down cards. "I activate my trap card, Floral Shield! This card allows me to negate your monster's attack – so Sacred Knight Jeanne is safe. I also get to draw one card," and Sherry promptly drew her card.

"Wait, not so fast!" Aki said and grinned, "Rose Tentacles gain an additional attack for each Plant-type monster that my opponent controls – Sacred Knight Jeanne is now Plant-Type. And once Rose Tentacles destroy a Plant-type monster you get 300 points of damage!"

"Not too bad," Sherry admitted, watching as her Sacred Knight Jeanne was destroyed by Rose Tentacles.

"And now for 300 points of damage," Aki said, "Thorn whip attack!"

Rose Tentacles monster extended its thorns and suddenly smacked Sherry across the face, having momentarily materialized.

"What the fuck?" Sherry screamed out, grabbing to her cheek where there was now a deep bleeding cut. Her Life Points went down to 3700 points.

"Oh...oops! Did that attack just manifest?" Aki asked innocently, faking cluelessness, "My bad...But I'm still learning to control my psychic powers and all, so sorry for that. I hope that doesn't leave a scar... And now I end my turn."

[Aki Izayoi]

[**End of Turn Two**: Rose Tentacles (Lvl.6) ATK2200/DEF1200 in Attack Mode; 1 Face down Card; 2 Cards in hand; LP4000]

"You bitch, you did that on purpose!" Sherry shouted.

"Maybe I did or maybe I didn't...what proof do you have?" Aki smiled.

Sherry gritted her teeth in anger.

* * *

At the same time as the illegal duel between Aki and Sherry was going on just metres outside of their house, the clueless guys still sat around talking. Somehow, Crow found a bottle of Jack Daniels and had already drunk a nice chunk of it.

"I miss my place," Crow said and sniffed, wiping at his nose, "It was so nice. The downpayment for it was 17,000 US dollars, can you believe it? That was almost all of our individual WRPG winnings! And now it's all down the drain…"

"Yeah, that's about how much I've spent on mine and Carly's place as well," Jack sighed, "And now...who knows how soon we're going to get a chance to participate in another tournament in order to get some money? Maybe...never again."

"Don't talk like that, there is always hope!" Bruno said, trying to cheer everybody up, "They might lift the duelling ban any day! Oh, by the way, what do you think is taking Sherry-san and Aki-san so long?"

"Dude, knowing girls, they're probably already BFFs and have gone to the mall to buy shoes and to gossip and stuff," Crow said.

Yusei didn't say anything. He figured that Crow's answer probably couldn't have been any further from the truth but Yusei wasn't worried. Instead, he walked up to his D-Wheel, hooked up the engine to the computer and watched as the computer began scanning.

"Yusei, what are you doing? We _can't_ Riding Duel anymore, remember? We could always normal duel in the boring privacy of our homes but definitely not Riding Duel," Jack reminded him.

Yusei turned to look at them. "The way I see it, is that it is not a crime if you don't get caught," he said and smiled mischievously, "So...what do you think about increasing our speed power and using side streets in Satellite districts rather than main highways and allocated duel lanes? It's going to be just like old times."

The three of them stared back at him. Crow looked really confused for a second but then he seemed to get it. "Oh my god," he exclaimed, "It's so true! We could still Riding Duel! Just like old times of escaping cops and everything...God, it all came back to me, I'm so nostalgic now..."

"Yes!" Jack proclaimed excitedly.

"I say we start working right now!" Bruno joined in.

"It's a plan then. But we must keep this a secret from Ushio and Mikage – we can't expect them to cover up for our crimes, it's not fair," Yusei decided.

* * *

Much to the guys' obliviousness to what was going on there was now a big crowd gathered around Sherry's and Aki's duel. Everybody was excited to watch a real duel unfolding, a duel devoid of all those blood circles and suicides that everyone's been hearing about. Even though it was illegal everybody loved it. There were whistling and cheers all around them but the two girls neither cared nor particularly noticed.

"Okay, I'm not playing around anymore," Sherry growled, no longer caring about her bleeding cheek, "It's my turn!" and drew a card.

[Sherry LeBlanc]

[**Beginning of Turn Two**: 0 Monsters on Field; 1 Face down Card; 5 Cards in hand; LP3700]

"I play a continuous magic card, Herculean Power – when my opponent controls a monster and I control none I can special summon a level 4 or lower monster from my hand. So I summon King's Knight in attack mode," Sherry said and another knight-monster (Level 4) appeared on her side of the field, its attack 1600 and defence 1400 points. "I now normal summon Fleur Synchron from my hand," Sherry continued and a Tuner-Monster (Level 2) with attack of 400 and defence of 200 points appeared. "But I'm not done yet! When my opponent controls a monster and I have a Tuner monster on my field, I can special summon D.D. Unicorn Knight!" and a third knight-monster (Level 4) appeared on Sherry's side of the field, its attack at 1800 and defence at 900 points.

"Ivy Shackles continuous magic activates," Aki interrupted Sherry's monster party, "Now all your monsters are Plant Type monsters."

"It doesn't matter," Sherry said and grinned, "I now tune my Fleur Synchron to King's Knight and to D.D. Unicorn Knight to Synchro Summon my ace monster, Fleur De Cavalier!"

A magnificent and immense knight (Level 8) appeared on her side of the field, its attack points at 2700 and defence points at 2300.

"Now, Fleur De Cavalier, attack her Rose Tentacles!" Sherry ordered.

"I activate my trap card, Ground Capture!" Aki shouted and flipped up the one face down card on her field, "Ground Capture allows me to halve the battle damage."

Sherry's monster destroyed her Rose Tentacles and Aki's Life Points went down to 3750. Aki was still in the lead.

"I place one more card face down and end my turn," Sherry concluded.

[Sherry LeBlanc]

[**End of Turn Two**: Fleur De Cavalier (Level 8) ATK2700/DEF2300 in Attack mode; 2 Face down Cards; 1 Card in hand; LP3700]

"Hey, while you're getting prepared to lose, Izayoi, have you ever heard of this great experiment all the way back in 2006?" Sherry asked.

"What experiment?" Aki inquired, annoyed and not particularly caring.

"Oh, haven't you heard? It was discovered that blue-eyed men overwhelmingly prefer women with light eye colours compared to women with brown eyes... I mean, wow! Apparently they don't find brown-eyed women as attractive. That's so sad, don't you think?" Sherry casually informed her, snickering, as she got back to what this duel and this rivalry were _really_ about.

Aki rolled her eyes in absolute annoyance. "Seriously? You're going to quote studies to _convince_ me to give up? You really are a joke, Sherry!" she exclaimed, "I mean, I should have known that you weren't very bright when you walked around in that stupid knight's armour and chain mail. I'm actually kind of glad that you stopped wearing that ridiculous outfit - it really made you look like you underwent lobotomy!"

"You're just jealous because I don't rely on outfits showing my boobs falling out in order to get attention of the men I like!" Sherry retorted.

"You _wish_! I don't use them to get his attention because I don't need to get his attention _anymore_. In case you weren't listening or are in denial – you _are_ blonde after all – Yusei and I are together now!" Aki said, "So seriously, just go away once I win this duel, okay?"

Sherry stared at her for a long minute of silence and then broke out laughing, openly and wholeheartedly. Aki was surprised to hear such a reaction instead of usual screaming, insulting and bitter snickers.

"I think I need to tell you something, Izayoi Aki," Sherry laughed, "There are some guys that are intrinsically unattainable: they are usually smart, have confidence through the roof, are _always_ badboys with the heart of gold and are _always_ dangerously handsome. They can be so focused, passionate and magnetic that they are, sometimes, almost impossible for us to resist. However, almost in every case they _know_ how great they are and they use it to their best advantage. They know that everybody wants them and thus they don't want anyone. Yusei is one of those guys. Doesn't it feel like you're the only one in the world when he talks to you or when he even just looks at you? I think it's time that you realized that he looks at _everyone_ this way. It's just how guys like him are. Charming and charismatic…sympathetic and understanding…attractive…these are their domains. And you know what? There is _nothing_ wrong with that: I'm naturally drawn to guys like that, you see. It is such a thrill for me to chase one like that and there is no greater satisfaction for me than to attain one, even for a short period of time. They tend to make all your dreams come true and then bam, they move on. And these guys prefer to be chased rather than do the chasing – after all, why would they chase if they could have _anyone_ they want? It's more satisfactory for them to have somebody fight for their ego and for their attention because it just further reaffirms their status. So tell me, Izayoi Aki…_how_ exactly are you and Yusei together? Did he come after you, at any point, or did you do most of the coming on? Did he fight for you or did you fight for him – which is, by the way, exactly what you're doing right now? Did he reaffirm his attraction by asking you out for a date, going out with you, and telling everyone about you and him; or did he do nothing and/or did only _you _do all of those?"

Aki stood with her mouth wide open, completely dumbfounded by Sherry's words. She suddenly found herself unable to articulate a good response or rebuttal. After all, how could she? Profound sadness and embarrassment began tugging at her heart strings. "Uh...well, not really...I mean..." she mumbled, attempting at a coherent response.

"Oh? Then you must have opened your legs for him by now? Right? So _that's_ how you're together?" Sherry continued, faking sympathy.

"Uh..." Aki found herself mumbling again. She began to feel emotionally ill. For some reason she felt herself beginning to blush. She didn't know if it was because of Sherry's painful insight on Yusei, or the mention of sex, or sex _with _Yusei, or Sherry's rude and yet reasonable questions.

"So wait...you're not going out with him...and you haven't even had sex with him... So all you did was kiss him a couple of times and _that's it_? Izayoi Aki…you can't be fighting me just over _that_, can you?" Sherry asked, her tone of voice genuinely sceptical now, "Wow...you know what, if you weren't such a bitch I'd actually feel bad for you. You stupid, _stupid_ and naïve girl: you know _nothing_ about men or what men want. You know absolutely nothing at all."

"Shut up!" Aki suddenly screamed. She felt tears stinging her eyes. Sherry didn't know anything! None of this was true!...Well, some of what she said was true, but she still didn't know anything! When Yusei looked at her, spoke to her, held her, kissed her...all those things, they were more indicative of his affection than any of the stereotypical things Sherry just mentioned. Especially since Yusei was never a stereotypical guy! And he definitely wasn't this "insightful" and figured-out caricature that Sherry decided to share with her - especially since her description sounded more like it was about someone like Jack. But then again...didn't Sherry say that she's kissed Yusei too? What if he held her and kissed her the same way he did to her? What if Aki's whole relationship was just a cruel illusion that she had painted for herself after Yusei had finally made a move on her? Aki just didn't know what to believe anymore.

"So...are you going to continue the duel or what?" they heard voices from the bored spectators around them. It was as if the girls only now realized that they weren't in private for this intimate conversation. But at this point neither of them really cared.

"Yes, are we continuing the duel or what, Izayoi? It's your turn after all," Sherry smiled.

Aki realized that she had been staring at the ground for the past minute or so. She slowly looked up, still in her sad daze, and stared back at Sherry. "Yes, we are continuing," she said quietly and drew a card, declaring her turn.

[Aki Izayoi]

[**Beginning of Turn Three**: 0 Monsters; 0 Cards on Field; 3 Cards in hand; LP3750]

"First, I will play a magic card, Magic Planter – by releasing a continuous magic card I can draw two cards. I choose to release my Ivy Shackles," Aki said and drew two cards.

_Better,_ she thought as she looked at her hand now.

"I normal summon Twilight Rose Knight in attack mode," Aki said and a small knight, tuner monster (Level 3), made an appearance, its attack and defence points both at 1000. "Twilight Rose Knight special effect activates – when this monster is successfully normal summoned I can special summon a level 4 monster from my hand. So I special summon Lord Poison in attack mode!" she said. She knew that Sherry knew what was about to happen.

"Ah, now this is getting interesting," Sherry smiled.

"Now I tune my level three Twilight Rose Knight to my level four Lord Poison to summon my Black Rose Dragon!" Aki exclaimed and slapped a silver Synchro card onto her duel disk, "Chilling flames engulf the entire world. Pitch-dark flower, set into bloom! Synchro Summon! Appear now, Black Rose Dragon!"

"Your chant is terrible. What does it even mean, "chilling flames engulf the world"? Is that supposed to make me afraid or to make me laugh?" Sherry sighed, looking unimpressed as Aki's ace monster, the beautiful Black Rose Dragon (Level 7), its attack at 2400 points and defence at 1800 points, began appearing.

Aki ignored her as she, instead, pulled off the metallic hair curler pin holding her front bangs - the Arcadia pin which, somewhat, held her psychic powers in check. She, of course, could control her powers without the need of the pin now but removing this device allowed her to perform at her absolute maximum power. Aki was so sick of Sherry and everything she'd said to her that she just wanted to hurt her. She _really_ wanted to hurt her.

Aki drew in a deep breath and concentrated on her Black Rose Dragon. As the dragon finally became visible, it flapped its wings - which sent surges of heavy wind all around them - and unleashed an ear-splitting cry. The curious crowd of spectators which gathered all around them to watch the fun duel began scattering in different directions, screaming. It was an instinctual fear of the manifested and, thus a real, monster, and a typical reaction of horror at her powers.

Inside the Poppo Time, all the guys looked up worriedly from their work when they heard a sudden rush of wind and an inhumane screech sending all the windows in their house trembling.

"What's...going on?" Crow slowly asked as he was still affected by the pleasantly lingering consequences of alcohol.

"That sounded like...a monster," Bruno whispered.

"A _duel_ monster," Jack corrected him.

_You can't be serious_, Yusei thought as he jumped up to his feet and hurried out of the basement. The moment he ran out to the outside he was stopped dead on his tracks. He was staring at the duel in progress between Sherry and Aki which, evidently, had been going on for quite awhile now.

"Yusei!" Sherry exclaimed and waved at him happily.

Yusei completely ignored her. Instead, he was staring at Aki who stood tiny under the enormous shadow of her Black Rose Dragon. He noticed her loose hair and felt alarmed, and rightfully so, too, since all the other times he had seen her like this she was ballistic and driven by her psychic powers.

"Just _what_ are you doing, Aki?" he asked, gazing at her with apprehension.

Aki stared back at Yusei and, in a moment, all her anger, frustration and pain with Sherry somehow faded. She began to feel a very strange and unpleasant feeling and she quickly identified it as guilt. His tone of voice came off as contemptuous, disbelieving and worried.

"Yusei..." was all she could master to say.

Yusei finally looked at Sherry and at her Fleur de Cavalier and, by looking at the fresh cut on her face he instantly realized what was going on for he had experienced one of Aki's similar psychic attacks before.

Bruno, Jack and Crow finally ran out to see what the commotion was all about and stood, dumbfounded, at the sight of an actual duel.

"How did we miss this?" Jack asked, "Is that basement borderline sound-proof?"

Crow stared at the two girls in a duel in his drunken stupor. And then he mumbled, "We also missed a catfight...god damn..." under his breath and whistled.

A distant sound of police sirens carried to them. It was quickly approaching. Apparently somebody had called on an illegal duel, after all. Aki knew that the call probably came after Black Rose Dragon materialized and sent people into panic.

"Stop this duel," Yusei ordered.

"Oh come on, we've only just warmed up," Sherry contested, "I could finish this before the police gets here. You_ know_ how I duel, Yusei."

Aki also had to admit that she wanted to finish this duel and to see Sherry swallow all her nasty words.

Yusei was unwilling to hear any of it. "No, this is _over_," he demanded and walked through the duelling field to Aki, where he reached and forcefully switched off her duel disk. Aki was about to protest but flinched when she noticed the look he was giving her – it was disappointment.

"Yusei..." was all she could say, once again. She wanted to reach out to him and to have him hold her but her heart sank when he shook his head and moved away from her, turning to look at Sherry instead.

"Sherry, are you hurt?" he asked.

"No, it's just a scratch – a minor duel glitch," Sherry replied, smiling at him, and deactivated her own duel disk.

Yusei sighed and shook his head, once again.

Aki was staring at Yusei's back with her eyes wide open. She felt betrayed, like he was judging _just_ her for duelling and like he was choosing Sherry over her. She thought he would understand! Yusei, of all people, who knew about the duelling spirit and who understood the inclination to duel no matter what! Additionally, stupid Sherry's words returned to ring in her ears and hurt her even more so when she could apply what Sherry told her to the current situation.

"Hey, Aki," she heard Crow's voice and a second later his arm was over her shoulder, "I saw that you were totally kicking her ass. Good job! Seriously, _fuck_ this prohibition, man. I don't care that duels are illegal either!" Aki smelled heavy alcohol on his breath.

Aki just nodded to his words, rigidly, while still staring at Yusei talking to Sherry. _No…_ was all she was thinking, angry and hurt.

"Oh, Aki, you should just hear what we decided to do – we're still going to Riding Duel!" Crow continued, completely oblivious to the fact that she was barely listening to him, "But shhh, you can't tell anybody else, especially not Ushio or Mikage. Oh, here they are! Hi, guys!"

The police and the Investigation Bureau finally arrived and Ushio and Mikage made their way towards them.

"There were some reports that a duel has been happening around here. Would you, guys, happen to know anything about it?" Ushio asked, staring at Aki and Sherry and their duel disks with a suspicious look on his face.

"Ushio! Did you find anything that would tie Kaiba Mokuba to our burnt up houses?" Crow inquired instead while still leaning on Aki. Aki was tempted to shrug him off because the smell of alcohol was making her kind of nauseous.

Ushio reluctantly peeled his eyes off Aki's duel disk and stared at Crow, saying, "Unfortunately, no. There was no evidence found which could connect Kaiba Mokuba to what happened, and we cannot go just by suspicious alone, no matter how justifiable. Sorry, guys. At the very least, it was reported that he had left Japan this morning so you won't have to worry about him anymore."

"Great," Jack mumbled having just neared them and eavesdropped on the conversation.

"So, about the duel that had reportedly happened here," Mikage said, bringing attention back to the real reason they were here, "Aki-san and Sherry-san...you're wearing your duel disks. I hope that you weren't the ones duelling but there are no witnesses left to confirm. So what is your explanation?"

Yusei moved and now stood between Aki and Crow and Ushio and Mikage. "They're wearing their duel disks because it is still a force of habit, Mikage-san: this is a city of duellists and we are not the only ones. Aki and Sherry were not in a duel and we do not know who it was that was. Trust me," Yusei said firmly, flat out telling them that there was nothing here to discuss.

Ushio and Mikage sighed. Yusei could tell that they weren't buying his explanation but that they were still good friends enough not to persist, and he was immensely grateful for that.

"Well alright... if you say so, Yusei," Ushio obediently submitted and Mikage nodded. They then left to notify other officers that there was no point of investigating anything because nobody was talking, there were no witnesses and that their hutch was anonymous as it is. They were gone in ten minutes leaving the group of friends standing silently by the entrance of Poppo Time.

"Thank you for saying that, Yusei," Sherry said, breaking the silence. She grinned at him, flirtatiously, and routinely flipped her hair.

This time, Yusei was completely ignoring Sherry and was eyeing Aki, instead. He wanted to talk to her, alone.

Aki caught Yusei glaring at her but she felt so sickened by the whole Sherry and Yusei thing, and the whole atmosphere with Sherry, that she didn't want to see him or anybody right now. Without uttering a single word she span around and ran inside the garage to get her D-Wheel. In a moment she had started it, put on her helmet, and sped off. She wasn't even wearing her motorcycle outfit: she drove off in her usual dress and corset apparel.

"What's eating her?" Bruno asked after they all watched Aki ride away with perplexed looks on their faces.

"I think the bigger question is..._who's_ eating her..." Crow giggled, "You know...um...wait..._not_ eating her, I mean, hahaha. Not eating? Get it? Like, _out_?"

Yusei would have really punched Crow for that comment had Crow not had been as drunk and wobbly as he was already. Jack fought hard from laughing out loud. Sherry looked extremely irritated. And Bruno looked like he didn't get the joke.

"Why were you duelling anyway?" Jack asked Sherry once he fought off his laughter, "You guys should know better – it's illegal and if you have to do it you do it inside _not_ outside for everyone to see."

"Wasn't my idea," Sherry shrugged.

"But you still agreed to duel Aki-san, didn't you?" Bruno asked.

Sherry stared at Bruno, annoyed.

Yusei really didn't care at this point. Without saying a word he made his way to the garage and started his own D-Wheel.

Sherry hurried after him. "Yusei, we still need to talk about something," she reminded him, looking anxious.

"I'm sorry but not today, Sherry," Yusei said as he put on his helmet, "Thank you for stopping by." He then revved up the engine and sped off.

Sherry watched him ride away and stomped her foot angrily.

"I'd offer you some cookies that you brought but we've finished them all," Crow said as he stumbled into the garage slash basement and stopped next to her, "Would you like some Jack Daniels though?"

"No thanks, I'm driving," she answered bitterly and made her leave, visibly upset.

Aki drove her D-Wheel as far as she could and stopped off at the tower where the Old and Neo Domino City had begun their immense change. It was quiet and nobody ever came here and so it was perfect.

She sat, embracing her knees, on the hard cement floor and watched the night sky at the corner of her eyes. There was a heavy smell of impending rain in the air. The sky rumbled dangerously in the distance. But Aki didn't care. She felt lonely and yet, somehow, serene.

Aki had less than five minutes of silence and solitude before she heard an approaching sound of a very recognizable D-Wheel. _Oh god_, she thought. She didn't want to see him. Furthermore, how did he find her? She buried her face in her lap, hiding behind her hair, whispering unintelligibly and only for herself to hear, "Go away."

Yusei parked right next to Aki's D-Wheel and then made his way to her. But instead of sitting down next to her he stopped by the railing and leaned on it, looking out towards the breathtaking view of the city.

"I came here once before. In this exact same spot," he said, "When I had a crisis of my own: about the Ghost and the inability to use Synchro Summoning. Jack and Crow found me here."

Aki refused to look up at him but still she listened.

"So I wondered if you would come here too and this was the first place I checked. And here you are," Yusei said and turned away from the city to look at Aki.

"So what?" she mumbled under her breath.

"So, it means that you and I are the same," he responded.

Aki flinched and quickly looked up at him, seeing him standing over her and his face not hiding his concern. Before she could speak up he asked, "Then, what is _your_ crisis?"

"I don't have a crisis," she quickly retorted and, once again, buried her face in her lap.

Yusei crouched next to her and gently tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear, silently asking her to look at him. And when she finally willed herself and their eyes met he asked, "Aki, tell me what's wrong."

"How can you ask me this? You _know_ what's wrong!" Aki exclaimed, suddenly feeling quite verbal, "For starters, I wasn't the _only_ one duelling today but you made it seem like I was! That look of disappointment almost killed me – and all you cared about was that scratch on Sherry's face!"

"It's because I trust you to be responsible, Aki," Yusei responded, "I really don't care what Sherry does or does not, but I care about what you do. You should aim to use your powers for good, not to hurt others."

"What does that even mean?" Aki snapped, "Was I irresponsible for having a duel in broad daylight? Okay, fine! And was it kind of bad that I tried to hurt her with my powers? Yes, maybe! But that doesn't change the fact that she asked for it – yes, this may be a surprise to you, Yusei, but she _also_ wanted to duel me or else she would have refused. And further, after everything she had told me, I'm surprised I didn't go further! You say that I shouldn't use my powers to hurt others? Well, I don't and you know that! But I _do_ use my powers when somebody hurts _me_, Yusei. Is it not justifiable?"

"What exactly had she told you then? How had she hurt you?" Yusei asked, troubled by the hurt in her voice. And maybe...even jealousy?

Aki stared at him with a pained look on her face and had to break the eye contact. "Don't pretend like you don't know," she whispered, fighting the incoming tears, "She told me...that...you and her had a...thing and...that the two of you are going to continue where you left off."

Yusei looked appalled. "No, Sherry and I never had any "thing," Aki. I saw her before she was about to leave all those months ago. She kissed me goodbye. That's all," he explained.

That confession didn't make Aki feel any better. She wished to have heard that _nothing_ happened instead of that they had _actually_ kissed. "Was it a good kiss, Yusei? Did you kiss her in return?" she whispered, still avoiding his eyes.

Yusei shook his head. "I don't like Sherry like that, Aki, I never did and I never will," he said, softly, "And I don't care what she wants. She thought I liked her and that I would leave with her to France. I'd never want anything like that. That's what her and I were going to talk about before you decided to duel. I was going to tell her that I'm not going anywhere and that I don't feel the same about her."

Aki sighed and looked at him, her eyes wet. She wasn't done. She had other issues eating away at her; in particular, Sherry's reflection on Yusei. She just needed to get it off her chest and to have him respond to her, face-to-face... "I fought her for you, Yusei," Aki confessed, "She made me so jealous. And...she gave me some doubts."

"What doubts?" Yusei prompted, once again.

Aki took a deep breath. "Yusei...could you just answer one question for me? Please, I...really need to know," she asked.

"Anything," he agreed. His heart rate suddenly spiked as the only important question of doubt that she could have asked him popped into his mind. He instantly pushed that question back, however, refusing to acknowledge it. It was way too early.

"Yusei...do you actually want to be with me? Like...for real?" Aki asked, timidly, feeling really stupid but knowing that she needs to know the truth once and for all.

Yusei stared at her in disbelief._ Why is she asking me this_, he was thinking, _Does she...really not know the answer? How could she not? I've _told _her this before. How could she have such doubts? _

Yusei let out a sigh and reached to wipe away her tears. And before he could pull his hand away she placed her hand atop his and nuzzled to him.

"You don't need to fight for me, Aki," he affirmed, "And you don't need to be jealous or hurt. Because...Aki, don't you remember what I had once told you? Just how much you mean to me?" he asked and shook his head, sadly, "So why do you harbour such doubts? What does it matter what Sherry says or thinks? Shouldn't what _I_ say and do be more indicative of what _I _want? That..." he paused, his heart suddenly racing and causing him to lose his breath, "That...I want _you_?" he added in an almost inaudible whisper.

Aki's bottom lip quivered from his words and she looked away for a few seconds. She felt even stupider now, having taken Sherry's words to heart and having believed them so and having doubted him. But now she knew and she knew that she would never, ever doubt him again. His words strengthened her and she felt so touched and didn't know why her tears were still incoming. She wondered if she was abnormal. "Thank you," Aki whispered, "And I had never forgotten your words, Yusei. But it's just that I've never really... before...heard things like these from anyone. And...it's hard getting used to and sometimes I just don't know what to think or to believe..."

"_Think_ for yourself. _Believe_ in all your friends, believe in me...And _do_ know that I would never lie to you," Yusei said, firmly.

Aki nodded, drinking in his words. "I'm learning quickly," she said, managing a light smile, and then she decided to add, shyly, "Also...um...it's probably because sometimes I just don't really know what to do or say around you, Yusei. You sometimes make me kind of...nervous, " she confessed, feeling horribly embarrassed, and gazed back into his eyes. She pretty commonly felt like a bubbling and nonsensical idiot and this was one of those times. It just seemed to her like he always knew exactly what to do or say and she was the opposite of that – how they were "the same," according to him, was beyond her.

Yusei stared at her and regardless of all the sentimentality in this conversation the corners of his mouth twitched from amusement. Sometimes she was just too cute for words. He couldn't help a smile.

"You make it sound like I always think one step ahead when it comes to being with you. It couldn't be further from the truth. I really am making it up as I go," he admitted and got up to his feet, pulling her up with him, "I don't expect anything, from you, Aki. Just be yourself and do what you think is right. That's all. And, truthfully...you sometimes make me kind of nervous too."

"Okay," Aki whispered, smiling brightly at him. He always knew exactly what to say to her. Even if she wasn't actually buying the last part – there was no way she made him nervous. After all, _what_ in his behaviour ever betrayed his confidence? Aki didn't think she'd ever seen Yusei jittery or shy about anything.

Yusei looked out towards the rumbling sky and then back at her and added, quietly, "We better get going now, it's threatening to rain any minute."

"Okay," Aki repeated, softly.

Yusei was now simply staring at her in silence. Aki instinctually wondered if there was a smudge of some sort on her face. But no, if she had been more perceptive she would have noticed his lust-glazed look and would have been able to predict that, a blissful eternity later, he would dip forward for a kiss. Aki's breath left her the moment his lips came in contact with hers and she whimpered softly but not before submitting easily to his tongue as he kissed her.

A roaring thunder broke out behind them and then a whispering noise sounded all around as it began drizzling. The sound of the rain was like an additional aphrodisiac to Aki and she cupped Yusei's face, crushing their lips together as she kissed him deeper.

Yusei was out of breath when he finally broke the kiss what felt like hours later. By that time he realized that the light drizzle had turned into a heavy downpour. Aki trembled from the sudden lack of warmth and opened her eyes, gazing up at him.

"We have to go Aki," Yusei whispered but quite hesitantly for he wanted nothing else but to stay here and to keep kissing her.

"Yes," she breathed as if in a daze, unable to keep her eyes from trailing back and forth from his mesmerizing blue eyes to his lips.

"Let's go," he said. He was not moving.

"Yes," Aki whispered and nodded, somehow forcing herself to abide: she peeled her eyes off him and made her way to her D-Wheel. He did the same.

_We're going home_, a strange thought donned on Yusei. _Home? Because all of us are living together. Talk about convenience and inconvenience rolled into one. _

"Race you home?" Aki suddenly asked, smiling deviously as she fastened her helmet and mounted her D-Wheel.

"You're on," he grinned, instantly excited at the prospect.

Aki bit her bottom lip, unable to keep her smile from growing bigger, and revved up her engine. "Catch me if you can, Fudo Yusei," she teased him and sped off.

_Watch me_, Yusei mused and in a moment mounted his own D-Wheel and sped off right after her.

They probably couldn't have picked a worse time to race: the wind was like a physical blow amplified by a tenfold due to the accelerating motorcycle speed, threatening to unbalance the two riders. In seconds, Aki's face was as wet as if she had dipped it in a bowl, and the ends of hair protruding from under her helmet lay limp and clinging to her cheeks. Additionally the raindrops fogged up the glass of her helmet but Aki honestly didn't care. She took a turn onto the highway ramp and, checking her mirrors, saw that he was trailing right behind her.

Yusei began accelerating to pass her but Aki saw it coming and quickly accelerated as well, not letting him. He instantly had to break and to fall behind lest he crash into her.

"Oops, is it illegal to do that?" she called out to him, laughing, "My bad...they didn't really teach me _that_ in licensing school."

_Naughty_, Yusei thought, highly entertained, _But we'll see._ He sped up again and kept it fast and steady right behind her as he awaited the first curve on the road.

Aki felt such exhilaration doing this. She had to fight herself from closing her eyes and relishing in the sensation of the rain and wind on her skin, the adrenaline rush of the speed, the sound of the D-Wheel, Yusei... What she wouldn't give to duel Yusei right now. It'd be such a thrill. She'd probably win too...

Then Aki saw the curve ahead and braced herself. She disliked bends on the road because they always brought back all the times she practiced Riding Duelling and miserably failed turning and fell off...And although she was quite good at driving now and always passed curves without any problems, sharp turns remained her only weak spot. And not even in technique but in her reaction – she'd always be at her most careful and avoidant in compromising safety.

She decelerated and began turning, concentrating on passing the curve, when Yusei accelerated past her, turning sharply. For a split second in time they were on the same level, their eyes met, and Yusei puckered his lips into a kiss. And then, in a moment, he cut her off and took the lead.

"No!" Aki cried out, unable to help her frustration. She didn't realize that, perhaps, Yusei also knew her weak spot...especially since he's been there during every single one of her practices...Basically he knew everything, god damn it!

Yusei looked over his shoulder and grinned haughtily at her. "Come on," he challenged, urging her to come and try taking the lead again. He then sped up and went almost twice as fast as they were going initially. Aki frantically tried remembering what the speed limit was on highways and if going nearly forty kilometres over the limit was illegal...but she couldn't let Yusei win, not when they were almost home. She revved up, accelerating, and soon caught up, watching him and the road ahead, knowing that her best bet to pass him would be doing it on a straight road.

Yusei saw her catching up to him and wondered if he should actually let her win this round. But he decided against it: after all, wouldn't it be better if she won a race against him on her own? He watched her closely in his mirrors and predicted her every move before she began making it – he'd move into the next lane when she'd attempt changing lanes to pass him or he'd accelerate further if she tried cutting him off.

By the time they arrived at Poppo Time – and the whole trip back really didn't last longer than ten minutes – Aki was beyond frustrated. It still rained like out of the bucket but she neither cared nor noticed.

Yusei pulled up to the garage, dismounted his D-Wheel and removed his helmet while looking at her with a smug smile on his face.

"That wasn't fair, Yusei!" Aki whined as she jumped off her motorcycle and ran up to him, "I want a rematch! With a longer trip, less road glare and less rain! Also with a road that you don't know inside and out!"

"As you wish," he complied, still grinning at her. He was so entertained.

"Fine!" Aki exclaimed and groaned, checking herself out. She was soaked to the skin and now all of her hair clung limp to her face and clothes, especially her long front bangs no longer bound by her usual Arcadia pin. She then looked back at him and sighed, even further frustrated, "Okay, seriously? Is that some kind of industrial hair gel you're using? How does your hair always stay the same?"

Yusei shrugged. He never cared about it nor particularly noticed. He began wheeling his motorcycle into the garage, tired of standing under the rain. Aki followed his example and as they opened the garage they were mindful of Crow and Bruno cohabiting there and tried to be as quiet as possible. They found Crow passed out and snoring in his corner while Bruno sat on his mattress on the opposite side of the garage and was busy doing something on a laptop. Bruno looked up and greeted them with a distracted smile before putting all of his attention back to his work. Aki found herself relieved not to see Sherry sitting somewhere and waiting for them especially since she half expected her to.

Yusei and Aki quietly left their D-Wheels in their designated spots, kicked off their shoes, and carefully made their way upstairs where the rest of the population lived. There was only silence coming from Aki's, Rua's and Ruka's room but there were some suspicious squeaking noises coming from Jack's and Carly's. Aki didn't hear them because she was too busy fixing her hair and her damp clothing but Yusei heard them and had a very good speculation as to what was the source of them.

"Ugh!" Aki fussed as she began trying to roll up her soggy front bangs with her usual metallic pin. She was shaking all over from the cold.

Yusei's own damp clothes didn't bother him in the least – he usually felt hot so this was rather refreshing, actually – but he didn't fail to notice her trembling and her visible discomfort. "If you didn't have the time to unpack I have towels in my room I could give you," he suggested.

"Okay," Aki agreed, remembering that she hadn't unpacked yet, and finished curling up her hair.

They walked into his room and Yusei closed the door behind them.

Aki's eyes widened when she looked around. So this was Yusei's room. She noticed that there were already a few tools and gadgets gathering dust on various surfaces. The decor was primarily black or blue – as evident by the matched covers on his queen bed – and just as she had expected it to be. She also noticed the WRPG poster hanging over the desk, the tournament they had won a bit less than a year ago. She had to close her eyes as memories of the event, painful and delightful, momentarily flooded her. Finally, the last thing she took in about this room was that everything was rather tidy and neat but that it still very obviously belonged to a boy.

"So this is where you used to bring anyone lucky," Aki commented and laughed nervously. She didn't know why she made such a remark. It was silly and kind of vulgar but for some reason she just couldn't help it.

Yusei shook his head. "I've never brought anyone here," he responded and walked past her to get her a towel from his bathroom.

"Oh," was all Aki could say, feeling her heart skip a beat. She didn't know what it meant or what it was she was feeling: so she was the first one he'd ever brought into this room? But Aki remembered seeing hickeys on his neck that one horrible time and hearing stories from Crow and Jack... so she was certain that Yusei wasn't a virgin. So did it mean that he must have had sex in other places? Or that he hadn't had sex since the time he had moved in here with Jack and Crow? Regardless, Aki didn't know why but she still felt touched: it was like there was a special privilege to be in Yusei's room and she had somehow earned it. And then, just as Aki was about to relax, a sudden realization donned on her. She was in Yusei's room. Yusei and her were going to be alone. In his room. The implication of the situation somehow pressed on her and her heart rate shot up, spreading warmth all over her body. Intense excitement, longing and anxiety began tormenting her mind and body. She pressed her back against the door, trying to calm her sped up breathing, forcing herself to relax and to stop being so jittery. It's not like anything had to happen right now, right? Yusei probably wasn't expecting anything either and he always seemed like he'd be a gentleman in these matters as well. So the two of them would just casually hang out here or something or watch TV...even though she noticed that he didn't have TV. But Aki simply no longer knew if she really just wanted to hang out or...to do something more.

Yusei, meanwhile, finally picked out the fluffiest towel he had, and walked out into the bedroom, turning off the bathroom light behind him. They were now in an otherwise dark room if it weren't for a bright moonlight peaking through the rain clouds and illuminating the room with soft luminescence. As his eyes found her standing by the door he suddenly drew in a sharp breath and almost dropped the towel. He always thought her to be breathtaking but, perhaps it was of the silver moonlight accenting the soft contrast of her pale skin and her red hair, that she was otherworldly at the moment. He knew that, until now, he had never set his eyes upon a more astonishing creature. The sight of her simply stole every breath from him and he could do nothing else but stare at her.

"I-uh...here," Yusei finally managed to mumble as he crossed the distance between them and handed her the towel. He rarely found himself at a loss of words but this was one of those times. He still couldn't stop gaping at her.

Aki noticed him staring at her rather strangely and felt even more nervous under his gaze. "T-Thank you," Aki stuttered, accepting a towel from his hands, and looked down, unable to meet his eyes. For a millisecond her hands grazed his hands and she felt like she had been shot up with electricity. She didn't know that Yusei felt it too.

Aki awkwardly towelled her hair in front of him and dabbed at her clothes, still intensely aware of his penetrating gaze. She wondered if she should say something to break the sexual tension or if she should just kiss him or...? If she were to kiss him would he interpret it like she's coming on to him, especially since they were alone in his room? But wasn't this what she always wanted and fantasized about and with added intensity as of recently? It was...but she was also beyond terrified and unsure of what to do as well as what she truly wanted to do now that she was faced with the_ actual_ possibility of it. So should she just thank him for the towel and leave? Or should she wait for him to say something or to dismiss her? She frantically tried thinking of what to do but her thoughts were scattered in a nervous turmoil.

"Yusei, I-uh..." she started, shyly looking up to meet his stare, and stopped, unable to say anything else. Her mind was drawing a blank.

"You are beautiful, Aki," Yusei suddenly whispered. He was completely transfixed by her. Her glimmering amber eyes bore his reflection. He blinked slowly, in a daze, and touched the back of his hand against her cheek.

Aki gasped at his words. _Oh god_, she thought and felt like she was about to faint. She began shivering under his warm touch and that had nothing to do with her temperature. It was the first time she had ever heard anybody say that to her. To say something so simple and yet…so wonderful. And it wasn't just anybody saying it, it was _Yusei._ Unable to articulate words and in complete abandon she encircled her arms around his neck and reached up to him, capturing his lips in a passionate kiss. Her nervousness remained but her indecision was trampled by her desire.

Yusei instantly responded to her kiss and pinned her against the door, his arms sliding around her waist while his tongue demanded entrance to her mouth. Once she parted her lips for him he delved his tongue into her mouth to deepen the kiss and she happily surrendered to it.

"Yusei...ahhh..." Aki relished, closing her eyes, as he now trailed open-mouth kisses down her neck, gently sucking her skin. Her moan caused Yusei's heart rate to spike through the roof and his pants instantly became uncomfortably tight. He realized that it was an aphrodisiac to him when she called his name.

The sensation of his lips on her neck sent the aching between Aki legs to be intensified by a thousandfold. She felt like she was burning up from fever. And suddenly she knew, at that very moment, that she had never, _ever_, wanted _anything_ as much in her life as she wanted him right now. To be with him right _now_, right _then_ and _tonight_. She knew it and she had not a speck of doubt. This was it.

"Yus-sei, I-I..." she began, trying to summon his attention, while her voice trembled almost as much as the rest of her. "I...I want to...do it," she finished whispering into his ear sheepishly and held her breath, biting her bottom lip.

Yusei froze and then slowly pulled up from her neck as his desire-clouded eyes bore into hers. He almost stupidly asked, _Do what_, but then the wheels quickly turned. _Oh_, he thought. He couldn't believe what he had just heard but seeing the expression on her face he knew it was no mistake.

Yusei swallowed in a throat suddenly dry at the implication of her confession. He had only imagined doing this with her a numerous amount of times, every day, for these two slow years...and here they were now. He knew right then that if tonight were to happen...then Aki and him could never go back to the way they were before, to being just fighters on the same path, to being just Signers, to being just friends... This was something he had dreaded when he was weighing pros and cons of a relationship with her, imagining what-ifs... But looking at Aki right now, standing before him, those feline-shaped amber eyes looking at him with desire and yet with endearing innocence...Yusei realized just how perfectly fine he was with all that. He didn't care what could happen tomorrow, a day after tomorrow or even in a couple of hours. He knew that he only cared about _right now_ and he knew that_ this_..._her_...were what had always wanted and will, feasibly, _always_ want.

"Are you...sure you want to, Aki?" Yusei whispered, his voice hoarse, "I don't want you doing anything you feel uncomfortable with or if you feel pressured in any way." He involuntarily held his breath as he awaited to hear her final decision.

_Am I sure?_ Aki asked herself. She looked over the man she had lusted since the day she first lay her eyes upon him. He was the man that taught her to be herself, to think for herself...he was her first friend, he was her supporter, he was her protector... And...she loved him...she truly, honestly and hopelessly loved him...and she wanted nothing more than to tell him but she wouldn't dare to. So why was she even asking herself if she was certain? How could she have even a _grain_ of doubt about this? And this was definitely not a result of pressure or some twisted way of dealing with discomfort for her.

"I'm sure. I-I want to, yes..." Aki stuttered nervously, while her desire for him was scorching now, pulsating new waves with each beat of her heart. "Yes," she repeated firmly, conveying her final stance, but then still timidly asked him, "And...do you, Yusei?"

Yusei didn't even need to think. "More than anything," he said and gently caressed her face, "But...only with you."

It was more of a love confession that Aki had dared to hope for from Yusei Fudo. She nodded, lightly, and breathed with relief when he instantly took the lead and leaned down, kissing her. She closed her eyes and responded as ardently as she could, her trembling hands cupping his face.

It was then that Yusei realized that they were forgetting something. At that point he wished he hadn't remembered but it was the right and the responsible thing to do.

"Wait," he mumbled into the kiss and pulled away. Aki stared at him, in protest, not knowing what was going on when realization quickly came to her. "We need a cond-" Yusei began saying but she pressed her finger to his lips, shushing him. "I'm on a pill," she whispered, smiling bashfully at him, and reached up to lock her lips on his, once again.

Yusei nodded elatedly – he really didn't want to go to Crow or Jack and beg for condoms from them. Especially not after finding out Crow's brand preference and not after guessing that Jack was kind of busy at the moment.

So, still keeping their kiss alive, he peeled one hand off Aki's waist to reach around and to lock the door behind her. Aki gulped at the audible click of the door locking. _This is happening, _she thought, _This is really happening._

Yusei's hands then tugged gently and inconspicuously at her skirt until it was up and around her hips before he lifted her up from the ground. Aki instinctually wrapped her legs around his waist and resumed kissing him hungrily, knowing that if she were to stop that the little of her current confidence would drain away completely.

Yusei carried her to his bed and gently laid her down, covering her trembling body with his. At that point his nerves finally caught up to him and he began feeling significantly tense as well: aside from the fact that he didn't really have a whole lot of experience in this, it wasn't only that he hadn't done this in quite awhile but also with _whom_ he was about to do this with. He had never felt as strongly about anyone as he felt about her...and now, finally being like this with her, felt surreal. And would he be able to please her to the best of his abilities and would he even be able to meet her expectations?

He had to numb his anxiety, however, because he couldn't ignore the fact that Aki was shaking like a leaf and that she was the one in need of comfort and _not_ of any additional edginess right now. So he pressed his hands into the mattress and pulled up, breaking the kiss so he could look at her.

Aki's eyes snapped open at the sudden lack of warmth and stared up at him, the mix of fear and desire evident in her gaze.

"Aki..." Yusei whispered, "You know that I'd never do anything to hurt you, right?"

Aki drew in a shaky breath and reached up to touch his face. "I know, Yusei. But...it's just that...I-uh...I...I've never really..." she paused and averted her eyes, feeling embarrassed, "I've...never done this before..." she stuttered, "And I don't really know what..." and her voice failed her.

Yusei smiled. He knew, of course. He had known it for awhile now. And he obviously didn't care. Instead, he sat up and took a hold of her hand as he pulled her up with him.

"Aki..." he called and pressed her hand to his chest. She stared at him in bewilderment, feeling his fastened breathing and his rapid heartbeat under her palm. It suddenly and clearly dawned on her that he was probably as nervous as she was. This was going to be the first time that the two of them would make love, after all, and, although it was the first time _ever_ for her, it was more than justifiable that he be a bit nervous as well. She felt bad for not recognizing something so obvious sooner.

She looked over him with tenderness while he attempted to ease some of her nerves by telling her, "It's me, Aki. It's_ just_ me. You don't have anything to be afraid of."

Aki's next breath was a slow and deep intake. His words, his touch...realizing that he was a bit anxious and not perfectly composed either, _all this_, actually helped her begin to calm down. Somehow this affirmed to her that this experience probably meant something to him too…considering it meant the world to her. "Okay..." she nodded, carefully moving closer to him, and, now with slightly more confidence, she straddled his lap and placed her hands on his shoulders.

"Just try to relax and don't worry about anything: everything will be fine," Yusei soothed and his lips found her neck again. His hands, meanwhile, rubbed up and down her back as if he was almost trying to stroke the tension away from her. Aki moaned lightly from his kisses and then timidly slid her hands under his jacket and pushed it off him. She was entranced as she slowly caressed the toned muscles of his arms, feeling the roughness of the healing Sky Dragon of Osiris mark.

Yusei brought her out of her trance when he moved back from her neck and began undoing her magenta coat. Aki kept her eyes on him, knowing that if they left him she wouldn't be able to go through this. She watched as his nimble fingers unbuttoned her coat before sending it flying to the floor alongside his blue jacket. Then went flying both pairs of their gloves. Yusei then gently pushed her to lie back down on the pillows and Aki stared at him, eyes wide, as he removed his sleeveless black shirt and now proceeded to tug at the laces of her corset. For a few seconds her eyes left his face and trailed down his neck to his bare chest and stomach. She noticed then, for the first time, that scars and marks were almost intrinsic to him: going from the marker on his cheek, to the Crimson and Sky dragons' symbols, and then down to a few slight scars on his chest – probably the results of the harsh Satellite circumstances - and none as prominent as the large scar on his right side, which, she guessed, was from the dark duel with Kiryu. But all those were reasons for Yusei's perfection for she had never gazed upon a more attractive sight.

She reached out and touched his side, caressing his skin softly and causing Yusei to momentarily halt what he was doing and to close his eyes in pleasure, before he leaned down to press his mouth against hers. His hands, meanwhile, finished undoing her corset and slid down to pull down her skirt and panties and, before Aki knew it, she was completely naked underneath him, with the exception of her stockings. Yusei broke the kiss and sat up again so he could look upon her and his eyes lustfully travelled over her irresistible flesh, taking in her uncovered ample breasts, her curves, her flat stomach, her long legs... She was so beautiful, so perfect and he had _never_ seen anything more flawless. His eyes glazed over from his desire and awe.

Aki opened her eyes and, as she realized her nakedness and saw him gazing down at her like _that_, she was unable to keep herself from shaking. Being that she had been wearing freezing wet clothes up to this moment didn't help either. Her face bright red, she made an attempt to cover herself to ease her self-consciousness but Yusei pushed her hands away, shaking his head. After hungrily gaping at her for another couple of seconds he finally leaned in to capture her lips in a passionate kiss and Aki responded urgently to him, trying to lose herself in the sensation and to alleviate her shyness. She didn't think she could wait any longer for him to take her, each and every one of his kisses teasing her beyond belief, and she was scorching in her ache for him. Feeling perplexed as to why he was still clothed from the waist down, she fearfully moved her hands to his hips to undo his pants so that they could finally get to it, but he stopped her.

"No, not yet," Yusei murmured against her lips, his soothing voice causing her to gently bite on his bottom lip in craving. Following his words, Yusei began trailing his kisses down her throat, to her collarbone, then reaching her breasts and taking one nipple into his mouth. Aki winced from the unfamiliar and yet delightful sensation and let out a loud moan, forgetting that she should probably keep quiet lest she wakes up the rest of the house. But for those few seconds she also forgot if she should care about that and so did he. As he gently sucked and encircled her nipple with his tongue, she arched her back and her hands threaded through his hair to pull him closer to her chest. She had no idea until now just how pleasurable this could feel and, although she felt quite embarrassed, she nonetheless didn't want him to stop. Yusei felt the same and he could have gladly spent forever doing this but he wanted to do something else, too. He placed one last kiss on her breasts and began kissing down to her belly. Aki pouted in complaint, wanting him to go back to her breasts, but Yusei ignored her as he, instead, finished undressing her by peeling off her damp stockings and then placed a gentle kiss on her belly button. Aki's stomach clenched under his lips, the sensation she was feeling bordering between nice and ticklish. Yusei smiled at her reaction before he resumed trailing kisses further down and slipped down the bed, positioning himself between her thighs.

As Aki saw where his head was she gasped and every muscle in her body completely tensed up. "Yusei...?" she whispered, bewildered, but he just shushed her. _What is he doing?_ Aki was thinking naively and then as his head went lower her eyes widened in shock. _Oh god_, she was thinking in sudden and obvious realization, _Surely he doesn't want to...kiss me there. _But he did. And he did more than kiss. The second his warm and wet tongue touched her, Aki nearly jolted in horror but his hands on her hips kept her firmly in place. His lips then pulled at the soft folds of her skin and then his tongue began to probe gently, slowly and yet relentlessly. _Oh god, oh god, oh god, _were the only things Aki could think as he was doing all..._that_, completely paralyzed by her shock and not knowing what to do. This felt really strange too, and rather ticklish, and in her nervousness she had to fight herself from giggling at the weird sensation.

And then his tongue suddenly found a tiny, sensitive place, so small she had not known it existed, so sensitive that his touch was almost painful at first, and Aki let out a loud gasp. Yusei began varying the movement and the speed of his mouth, trying to find the movement she was most responsive to, and when she let out another gasp to the slow, repetitive and particular flick of his tongue, he thought, _There_, and kept going, maintaining that technique.

Aki no longer thought that what he was doing felt weird. In fact, her body began to feel really, really hot and _good_. Her breathing became rapid but heavy, like she was in a marathon. It took only a few more seconds before she forgot all about her shock and relaxed. "Yusei, oh god..." she mumbled, squeezing her eyes shut and frowning in pleasure. She was quickly becoming overwhelmed by the most piercing sensation she had ever experienced. She let out a breathless moan and arched her back, no longer capable of restraining herself. _Don't stop, don't stop, don't stop, _she was repeating in her mind as she began lightly moving her hips up and down, responding to the movements of his tongue and lips, completely absorbed in her pleasure. It built and built...feeding on itself...her hands grabbed onto the bed sheets, squeezing them in her fists...until she felt utterly possessed by ecstasy and parted her lips to let out a gasping scream, her climax going on and on, ending in something that felt like an explosion.

When it was over Aki lay, panting, hey eyes closed and she was vaguely aware that Yusei was still between her shaking legs. Her eyes fluttered open and she gazed upon him, her eyelids heavy, while he sat up and offered her a gentle smile.

"I...I didn't think it could be like this..." Aki whispered, dreamily. And looking at him, she knew that she wanted _more_, a lot more.

"Then what did you think it would be like?" Yusei asked, his voice a bit strained. At this point his own excitement for her was almost unbearable, it felt like molten lava thumping desire through him, nearly causing him physical pain. He honestly had to fight himself from jumping on her right then and there and ramming her hard and fast like there is no tomorrow.

Aki didn't answer him as, instead, her eyes travelled down to his abs and to the top of his pants where she saw a quite distinguishable bulge. Her breath caught in her throat as she anxiously stared at it, intense wanting aching in her veins once again.

Yusei's eyes followed her gaze and his breath hitched when he realized that he was being given a green light. He got up from the bed and began undoing his pants when Aki suddenly sat up in front of him and timidly reached out for his belt, asking, "Can...I?"

Yusei nodded, his heart rate accelerating to an unbearable speed as he watched her. Aki's hands began shaking from nervousness and he had to steady her hands as she slowly unbuckled his belt, then unbuttoned his pants and pulled down the zipper.

As his pants finally came down along with his boxers Aki gasped and felt like the room had begun spinning. This was her first time seeing one...and he was _big_. Big and so much longer and, especially, _thicker _than she had imagined.

"Yusei...you are perfect..." she whispered in awe and then suddenly felt overwhelmed. Scared. Just how would he...fit in _her_? How could _that_ go in?

Yusei's ego swelled at her words and with a groan he pushed her down on the bed and climbed on top of her, settling between her legs. Familiar trembling returned to Aki as she now felt all of him, hard and impossibly warm, pressed against her.

"Aki, are you...ready?" he asked her in a low whisper, needing to hear a final affirmation in case she was harbouring doubts.

Aki forced herself to stop staring at _it_ and to look up into his eyes instead, nodding fearfully but impatiently to his question. Anxious or not, she was burning up and couldn't wait another second. And it was going to happen now. This was it.

"Then just try to relax," Yusei told her and Aki managed another light nod, basically squirming under him at this point, and bent her legs at the knees. He leaned down to kiss her and she replied to his kiss as best as she could considering she was completely distracted and tensed by what was about to happen.

Yusei held his breath, his lips still hovering over hers, and, pressing his hands into the mattress for better leverage, he began pushing himself into her as slowly and gently as he could.

Aki felt a smooth rounded tip touching her and, right before she thought it wasn't going to be all that bad, a sharp pain shot right through her. She flinched and let out a whimper, her eyes squeezing shut. She knew that first time was supposed to hurt...but no amount of mental preparation could have kept her body from tensing up in reaction to the foreign intrusion.

Yusei, meanwhile, completely stopped what he was doing and worriedly stared at her. He had barely even touched her but it was already causing her so much pain. Her pained expressions caused him anguish and caged the beast of lust within him. He knew that he could not bear to harm her. Not her, not his Aki. And not like this, not now or ever.

Crestfallen, he shook his head and whispered, "Aki, I can't...I just can't hurt you," beginning to move away from her. Instantly, however, Aki clasped her arms around his shoulders and pulled him back on top of her, holding on to him like she was drowning.

"No, please...Yusei, I want it to be you," she pleaded him, tears glistening in her eyes.

"Aki..." Yusei hesitated, his eyes not concealing his outmost concern and affection. But, even with his principles so strongly challenged, he knew then and there that he could never deny her. He would do everything she would ever ask of him. "Okay," he finally agreed after countless painfully slow seconds and leaned down to place a gentle kiss on her temple. His hands, meanwhile, located her hands and now held them by her head, pinning them into the mattress. He then repositioned himself to try again, and with a different approach. Rather than draw it out perhaps it would be better to get it over with quickly, should she agree.

Aki intertwined their fingers together and gripped his hands with all her strength. Looking up into his composed and confident blue eyes helped her calm her breathing and relax her body for him in spite of knowing that more pain was coming.

_Fast and quick_, Aki thought, reading it in his reassuring gaze.

_Almost like a band-aid_, Yusei thought, finding approval in her eyes.

An excruciating second later Yusei pushed his hips forward into her in one hard and fast thrust. Unbelievably tight and wet warmth welcomed him and he couldn't help a moan of pleasure escaping his lips, his eyes leaving hers. Nothing had _ever_ felt as good as this. It was simply indescribable.

Aki's moan, however, was that of pain. She cried out and tears sprung from her eyes. "Yusei...it h-hurts," she sobbed, prying her hands out of his grip and, instead, reaching to embrace his shoulders again. She could never have imagined for this to hurt so bad. Was it supposed to feel like she was being ripped apart? Was he supposed to feel almost like a _sword_?

Her cries and tears instantly brought Yusei down from his high and his heart clenched painfully in his chest. "Aki, I…I'm sorry," he whispered as his eyes found hers again and he gently wiped away her tears, feeling so bad for having hurt her. He then slowly shifted his body weight to his elbows and wrapped his arms around her shaking form, nuzzling against her neck and forcing his body to remain still until she adjusts to him a little. And it was colossal effort considering how incredible she felt, how much he ached for her, and how much more difficult she made it for him when, instead of relaxing, she kept tightening from pain.

Aki held on to him and buried her face into his shoulder, squeezing her eyes shut as she focused on him: his fastened breathing, the heat of his skin against hers, his hard and heavy body instead of the sharp pain inside of her... _Just breathe, breathe, breathe_, she was telling herself, and taking controlled and slow intakes of air, as well as becoming aware of the sounds of the rain outside, helped soothe her. Slowly, she began to relax, feeling the pain beginning to subside.

Yusei felt her beginning to relax and decided to attempt at moving a bit, and so he gently rocked his hips forward. However, as minimal as that was, he felt her completely tense up again and heard her pained whimper, and so he instantly stilled himself. But Aki found that it didn't take her as long to come around this time as when he first entered her: the pain was definitely not as sharp or blinding. She took a few more moments to get used to him and managed to relax a little again and Yusei pulled up from her neck so he could look at her.

"Are you okay?" he asked, his tone of voice slightly torn, and gently caressed her face, wiping the traces of her tears. He needed to hear that she was alright before he'd attempt at doing anything again.

Aki nodded while keeping her eyes squeezed shut, needing to compose herself before she could gather the courage to look at him. _Breathe...breathe...breathe...and relax_, she kept repeating to herself over and over in her mind.

She looked so agonized and uncomfortable that her confirmation did nothing to convince him. "Aki, we can stop now if you'd like… if you're in too much pain. We can do this another time," he said softly as he transferred his weight back to his hands and propped up above her. He wished that she would look at him. He wanted her know that there was no pressure and that they didn't have to do everything tonight and that he would be completely alright with that. Besides, keeping hurting her like this was becoming way too much for him and he didn't know how long he could take doing this.

"N-no, don't stop," she refused, slowly shaking her head. But when he didn't move a muscle to her request her eyes flickered open and, as she looked up at him, she suddenly saw hesitation and guilt written all over his face. His eyes gave it away most of all: she had never before seen him look so heartbroken.

Aki felt a tug at her heart, abruptly understanding that in many ways he was just as hurt as her. "Hey…Yusei, it's okay," she whispered tenderly and soothingly caressed his arms as if trying to stroke the tension away from him. Then, wincing a little, she enclosed her arms around his neck and pulled him back down to her, embracing him. Holding him closer like this and now fully concentrating on him she was astonished to realize that he was trembling, although nearly imperceptibly.

"Aki…" Yusei breathed against her neck, still hesitating.

"I'm okay," she reassured him and planted a soft kiss on his cheek while she stroked his hair, "Just…go slow. Slow."

Yusei nodded, relishing in her gentle and comforting touch which quickly helped him compose himself. He finally took a few deep breaths to calm down completely and then gently pushed forward into her once again.

Aki gasped and couldn't help her eyes closing from pain once more but it was no longer utterly immobilizing. So her hands framed his face and she guided him to her for a kiss. As her tongue slyly slipped into his mouth, he rocked into her one more time - she cringed but she did not pull away from him. Instead, she intensified the kiss, very slowly and cautiously beginning to move her own hips, attempting at mimicking his movement, and urging him on.

And that was the approval that he could finally accept from her. Kissing her deeply, Yusei began to move at a very slow, controlled but constant pace, his breathing accelerating as the unbelievable feeling of her coated him with each thrust. The incredible physical sensations began to fog his other senses and he realized then just how much those careful and singular thrusts had already intensified his ache. He found himself needing to concentrate on something other than her occasional sighs and groans, and her body, in order to keep himself from losing his mind and buckling roughly against her warmth to find his release.

Aki resumed kissing him, maintaining her non-flinching composure although she was still in a lot of discomfort, while occasionally grinding her own hips to correspond with his slow rhythm as she tried to see if it could make the whole process less painful or pleasurable, even. So far everything felt very strange and she wondered if it was really supposed to be like that or if it was just her. It was good, she supposed, but she still felt quite uncomfortable and even kind of awkward despite being intoxicated by their intimacy: she didn't know if there was a point at which it was expected of her to begin making some automatic loud noises, or what she was supposed to do – such as kiss his neck or ear or what – if he were to stop kissing her lips. It was also none of that fireworks-magic-screaming-in-ecstasy that movies lead to believe. All she could feel was that burning soreness as he stretched her and as her body was still learning to accommodate him, and some peculiar tension gradually swelling inside her.

Having been given a bit more liberty now, Yusei gripped her legs and carefully pulled them up higher around his waist, changing up the angle but still moving very slowly. He gasped into the kiss at the sensation of being pulled deeper and Aki winced, letting out a groan against his lips, when alongside sharp pain that peculiar and confusing feeling of tension abruptly intensified as well. It now felt similar to the sensation of his mouth on her but...somehow different, more intense and more amazing. This pressure now began suppressing her discomfort and she wanted more of it. _This feels better_, she thought, _Oh, so, so much better_. Her legs tightened around his waist and she now started moving her hips at a slightly faster pace while kissing him more passionately, quickly becoming lost in the strange and yet addictive sensation.

Yusei groaned hoarsely into the kiss at her sudden enthusiasm and began to move a bit faster to coordinate with her, although still cautiously holding back from moving as freely as he wanted to. He did not want to do too much and cause her any additional pain, no matter how difficult it was to resist her when each small gasp and moan – now increasingly escaping her more and more – sent a shock of excitement through him. And he wanted nothing else than to hear even _more_ from her. At the same time he felt such immense relief wash over him: it seemed like she was finally beginning to enjoy this and it was no longer just him selfishly taking all the pleasure while she felt nothing but pain. Also it was as if he finally began doing something right.

As he kept going and going, Aki could no longer keep a track of all the noises she was involuntarily making. She dug her nails into his back, gripping him tighter as she was now becoming overtaken by that intense and escalating tension inside of her. And it just kept getting unbelievably stronger and stronger and she wanted to keep feeling it and did not want him to stop what he was doing or how he was doing it. Her fast and heavy breathing made it hard for her to maintain a kiss that passionate and she broke it for air.

"Oh Yusei..." she moaned softly and her eyes rolled back in bliss.

The sound of his name escaping her lips in such a breathless moan nearly caused Yusei to slip into passionate frenzy but somehow he resisted it. Instead, he leaned down to her neck and began nibbling on her skin which caused Aki to gasp and arch her back in pleasure. He continued with his slow pace, although gradually increasing it and unconsciously beginning to move a bit harder as well.

Soon the air was filled with both of their moans and gasps. Her moans pushed his control to no end and, as Yusei watched her squirm and twist underneath him, he delighted at the sight, finding it to be the most arousing and satisfying experience to ever happen to him. Aki felt all of him inside of her and it was nothing like she had ever felt before: she wanted both to cry and to scream; she whimpered in pleasure with each still-kind-of-painful thrust but she couldn't get enough. Her hands dropped from his shoulders and his hands somehow found them, gripping them tightly, and their fingers intertwined.

And then the sensations suddenly became unbearable for Aki, physically and emotionally. As Yusei's next couple of thrusts began pushing her into what felt like an impossible and unattainable high – so unbelievably more powerful and elusive than the one from earlier on – her eyes snapped open and she desperately searched for his. As the deepest blue finally gazed back at her, Aki's lips parted and she began saying, "Yusei, I lo-" when she was overtaken by the most intense and pleasurable sensation of her whole entire being. Her hands squeezed his in a desperate spasm and her sight was blinded; her words were lost in her breathless cry of ecstasy and her body convulsed as each intense wave of pleasure - pushed by him - passed through her. And this nirvana went on, and on, and on, and on and she didn't think that it would ever end...and then it did.

Yusei watched her with heated eyes, drinking in the arousing sight of her, and as each wave of pleasure rippled through her, he felt her contract and tighten rhythmically around him, and the sensation became too much for him to take. No longer able to hold it back he let go with a deep groan and an intense explosion of pleasure shook him, nearly knocking him out. He buried his face in her neck and lost his rhythm, his hands gripping hers - which were relaxed now - so tight that his knuckles turned white.

After what felt like forever, Yusei collapsed on top of her and desperately gasped for air as his heart throbbed in his chest. Aki sensed that she might have blacked out because she suddenly realized that she was biting his shoulder, which she couldn't remember doing before, and when she pulled back she saw that she left a red imprint on his skin.

Yusei felt so drained that he didn't think that he'd ever be able to get up. Aki felt so tired and so sore that she didn't think that she'd ever be able to walk again; the room was spinning for her and her whole body was trembling as if from delightful aftershocks.

Yusei made an attempt to move off her but Aki's hands and legs kept him in place. He was heavy on top of her but she liked his weight and trailed her fingers soothingly up and down his back, feeling the faint perspiration on his skin. When their breathing subsided she could, once again, hear the rain outside. After blissful silence she finally released him and was the first to speak up.

"Yusei..." was all Aki could say in her daze, nearly delirious with happiness.

Yusei smiled into her neck and rolled onto his back, then turning onto his side to look at her.

"Aki," he said and reached to gently caress her face. His eyelids heavy, his eyes closed when Aki leaned in and kissed his lips softly.

Aki observed him and wondered if she should try falling asleep too but she didn't know if she was supposed to stay with him in his bed or go across the hall to her room or...

As if reading her thoughts, Yusei pulled the sheets over them and wrapped a weary arm about her. "Stay with me," he whispered and Aki smiled, tiredly and yet elatedly. She cuddled to him, and as Yusei breathed in the scent of her shampoo mixed with strawberry perfume he fell asleep in seconds. And the adrenaline rush wasn't enough to keep Aki from following his example: the unguarded expression of Yusei's sleeping face and the soft sound of raindrops on the window instantly lulled her to sleep.

* * *

_So yayyyyy, Yusei and Aki finally did it! I wish this happened in anime (or at least was implied)...Yu-Gi-Oh seriously needs to stop sucking when it comes to romance. _

_Also, this is my first non-cliffhanger ending!_

_So for next chapter: Will Aki and Yusei do it again? Will we find out if they woke up the whole house? Will Sherry show up and mess up their plans? Will some plot exposition happen and some villain make an appearance? And will we find out what that mysterious creaking noise was in Jack's and Carly's room (lol)?_

_Stay tuned and you (might) find out!_


	15. Chapter 14: Addicted

_Author's Note:_

_Here is Chapter 14 of "The Kingdom [be]Comes"!_

_This chapter is, thankfully, not as long as the previous one although still not too short. It's also a bit of a filler chapter and I apologize for that but I wanted to write more Aki x Yusei stuff. But I still set up some stuff that could give you a taste of where the plot will be going next, so this is not a completely filler chapter. _

_Also, there is more sexuality in this chapter (although not as graphic as Chapter 13 and it's mostly implied) so be careful if you're under 18 or are offended by sensual situations. _

_Lastly, I'd like to thank everyone for their reviews, for favouring this story or me as an author, or putting this story on your alerts. It's so sweet that you guys do that and I'm so incredibly grateful. You guys are the best readers any author could hope for!_

_So I hope you enjoy this chapter and thank you for reading!_

_**NineInchNailed.**_

* * *

"_**Every man makes a god of his own desire.**_"

_~Virgil._

* * *

A cool breeze caressed Aki's exposed shoulders and she shivered, half asleep. Without opening her eyes, she moved to the comforting heat of the body she'd snuggled against all night. But when her hands touched the empty space next to her eyes snapped open and she was instantly awake. As she stared at the hollow side of the bed, in post-sleep haze, she wondered if everything that happened last night was just a dream. That logic was then trampled by her realization that there was still an imprint of a body under her hand and that she, most obvious of it all, was still in Yusei's room.

Aki quickly sat up on the bed, modestly clutching the bed covers to her chest, and looked around in alarm.

"Yusei?" she called, not a sleep in her eyes.

"Hmm?" hummed Yusei's voice as he peaked out of the bathroom. He had shaving cream on his face and he looked freshly showered based on him wearing nothing but a towel wrapped dangerously low around his hips.

"Nothing," Aki relaxed, unable to hide a shy smile as she ogled him in his morning attire.

Yusei returned a smile and retreated into the bathroom.

Aki glanced down and as she noticed the rumpled bed sheets - with half of them scattered off the bed - the events of last night suddenly began flooding her. Her breathing fastened as she vividly remembered Yusei's hands, his lips, his body, his moans, him moving inside her… Aki blushed hard and put her hands on her cheeks, feeling herself burning up. "Oh my god," she whispered, breathless, unable to believe that it happened, that it actually and_ finally_ happened, and that it happened with _Yusei_, the man she had always dreamt of being her first. But never did she think that her most hopeless and desirable scenario would come true and that it would turn out so, _so_ much better than she had ever imagined it to. Especially after the horror stories she had usually heard about first times.

The sexy thoughts and memories brought with them a dull pain between her legs, as if her body was further reaffirming that all of that had, indeed, happened. Aki cringed in slight discomfort and then worriedly looked about herself, hoping that she had not ended up bleeding on his bed. Thankfully, she wasn't able to find anything.

As Aki got up from the bed she was surprised to find her garments folded neatly on a night table instead of scattered all over the floor where she'd last remembered "leaving" them. Yusei…did this? A broad smile lit up her face. His was a simple gesture and yet so thoughtful…and sweet.

She finally picked up her clothes and began dressing. She had barely managed to lace up the top half of her corset and slip on a skirt when Yusei came out of the bathroom, looking energized, clean, wearing just pants and thus, all in all, looking incredibly delicious. Without realizing, Aki stared into his eyes and then her gaze slipped down to his hands, then his well-sculpted abs, and then lower towards his zipper… Aki suddenly became aware of her own dishevelled state of appearance and cursed herself for having forgotten about it: she quickly (and, she hoped, gracefully and casually) brushed her hair with her fingers and wiped at her eyes for any mascara trace.

"Morning," Yusei greeted her with a smile and picked out a clean t-shirt from a dresser, putting it on. He then suddenly became transfixed by the loose corset hanging off her. So insecurely laced, it was a miracle how it managed to keep her ample and perfect breasts from falling out.

"Morning," Aki recalled, blushing, as she now hurried to do up the rest of her corset. Yusei, after gaping at her cleavage for a few seconds, realized her struggle and found it amusing.

"Here," he said as he neared her and his hands replaced hers on the laces.

"Thank you," Aki smiled and shyly lowered her eyes. She felt horribly awkward especially in the contrast to his calm and smoothness. And it was silly for her to be acting like this, having seen him naked and having just slept with him for god's sake, but she didn't know the proper conduct for times like this. Was she supposed to have woken up with him? Were they supposed to make out and jump into the sack again right away (and this she actually wanted to do)? Was she supposed to comment on last night or compliment him on it? Or was it appropriate for her to go and make him breakfast or something? Or was she, heartbreakingly, supposed to give him some space now and leave to her own room?

She was also having some hard time deciding because his hands so near her breasts were quite distracting.

Yusei watched her reactions and found himself even more so amused. It was endearing how she was and her obliviousness to it just made it all the better. But he was bored then of just standing there instead of properly greeting his lover. Abandoning his work after he had discreetly undone all the laces instead, he wrapped his arms around her waist and leaned down for a soft kiss.

Aki was a bit startled at such tender and abrupt affection but in a moment melted into that kiss. He smelled exquisitely and he tasted like mint. She felt bad for not greeting him with similar aesthetics, not recognizing that he so obviously didn't care.

"Better," Yusei murmured, approvingly, and pulled away. "How are you feeling?" he asked with concern.

"Great…" Aki smiled brightly. It was true. A bit self-conscious and awkward or not, but she was floating on the clouds and had butterflies in her stomach.

"Good," he nodded with content and slipped his hand beneath the unfastened corset, gently caressing her breast and causing her to gasp in surprise.

"Yusei!" Aki exclaimed, unable to believe that his trick went unnoticed, and shivered at sensation of his lips trailing on her neck now. "Yusei…it's early morning and everybody's awake…" she whispered almost incoherently and her eyes rolled back in pleasure. Her hands grabbed onto his shoulders to steady herself. She couldn't remember if she should care about noise or other people or not…everything just seemed kind of hazy now…

"Actually, it's quarter past noon. But you're right, I'd imagine that everybody else _is_ awake," Yusei mumbled and chuckled when she gasped and wiggled out of his arms.

"Oh my god," Aki breathed, "I have to go! I need to get into my room before Rua and Ruka wake up! And I need to take a shower!"

Yusei wondered if he should just inform her that she could shower in his bathroom…and if he should try being even _more_ direct about what he wants to do right now…because he really,_ really_ wanted to… But ultimately, he decided that he could wait for her to recuperate first.

"As you wish," he consented and offered to help her out with her corset again but with no tricks this time. Aki agreed and marvelled at how nimble and fast his fingers were at both dressing and undressing her…he must have obtained a secret degree in this or something.

"Come down when you're ready. I'll make us breakfast," Yusei said and, giving her a quick kiss on the forehead, exited the room leaving Aki mute and dumbfounded in surprise. He was going to make _them_ breakfast? _He_? She shook her head in disbelief, unable to wrap her mind around the wonder that turned out to be Yusei Fudo.

Finishing putting on the basics and wrapping her long magenta coat over her shoulders, Aki hurried across the hall to hers and the twins' room. As she entered, she saw Ruka only beginning to steer awake while Rua still snored peacefully.

"Ohayou, Aki-san," Ruka yawned as she rubbed her eyes and sleepily sat up on her bed. She then got up and shook Rua's shoulder, attempting to wake him up.

"Morning," Aki responded and quickly sneaked into the bathroom before she could get questioned about her disappearance tonight.

Meanwhile, Yusei made his way downstairs to the kitchen and when he got there he saw that Carly, Jack and Bruno were already awake. Bruno sat at the dinner table and was attentively reading the newspaper while Carly was busy preparing least five portions of scrambled eggs and sausages. Jack, in the meantime, stood behind Carly and was murmuring something into her ear while lovingly running his hands up and down her curves.

"Oh, Jack!" Carly giggled and almost dropped one of the egg shells on the floor, "Cut it out…we're not alone…"

"I don't care and neither does Bruno. Don't you, Bruno?" Jack retorted and turned to look at Bruno.

"Did you guys hear? The stock for IBM went down yet another percent!" Bruno explained without even lifting his head from the newspaper, absorbed in his own world.

Jack smirked and then suddenly noticed Yusei standing in the doorway. Yusei smiled as he took a seat next to Bruno. "How is everyone?" he asked.

Jack took a step back from Carly and leaned against the counter, looking up at the ceiling and whistling like nothing's happened, while Carly stuttered, "Yusei! Good afternoon…it's a lovely day, isn't it?"

"It is," Yusei nodded.

"Good, good," Carly responded, blushing, and hurried to finish up the first batch of eggs. "Guhhhhh, there is no time! Everybody's coming in five minutes! Jack, could you help out by making some bacon?" she requested with a sweet pout.

Jack scowled at her and then rolled his eyes. "Fine," he muttered.

Aki slowly wiped the fogged up bathroom mirror and stared at her reflection. She tried to see if anything about her looked different but no, she looked the same. She _looked_ the same but yet she wasn't. Aki lazily ran her hands over her wet skin and smiled contentedly at her reflection. She had never before felt so desired, so complete and so…beautiful. She had never before felt so elated, nearly floating on the clouds. "Yusei…" she whispered breathlessly and closed her eyes, touching her lips, as she felt consumed in her longing. She wanted him and she wanted more. She never should have left his room.

By the time Aki exited the bathroom all showered, dressed up and wearing light make-up, Rua and Ruka made their beds and got ready to go down for breakfast.

"Aki-neechan! How late did you come in last night?" Rua asked casually.

"Around twelve or so," Aki lied, "I woke up early today too, couldn't really sleep."

"That's too bad, I slept like I was dead!" Rua decided to share.

"Breakfast!" Ruka exclaimed, ignoring their conversation, "It smells really nice from downstairs!"

The three of them got downstairs and Aki was disappointed to find the kitchen loud and full of people versus just Yusei as she had hopefully anticipated. In addition to all the residents of Poppo Time, excluding only Crow, Mikage and Ushio had also decided to join in on late breakfast or early lunch, for some reason.

Aki found herself squeezed between Ushio and Yusei after Yusei had fought off a place for her to sit next to him. It was totally fine though because having so little space meant closer proximity with him. She shifted to Yusei's side to give some room between her and Ushio, and with her leg now pressing against Yusei's she felt like she was almost sitting on his lap.

"Hi…" Aki whispered, blushing, as she looked at him.

Yusei smiled at her almost as if in a trance. Gazing at her, everyone's the voices suddenly became muffled and he had to fight himself from pulling her to him and devouring her mouth right then and there in front of everyone. Would it really be that bad if he did? Would it even matter to anyone?

"Yusei!" Carly called and Yusei awoke from his daze and turned to accept a plate full of food. He passed it on to Aki and waited for another one.

A few minutes of casual talking and eating for everyone until Carly pointed out, "By the way, where is Crow?"

"Hangover, probably," Jack snorted.

"He's still sleeping," Bruno explained.

At that same moment the kitchen door creaked open and Crow stumbled in. "My head!" he groaned as he took a seat at the table, and buried his face in his crossed arms.

Everybody laughed and Crow grimaced, grabbing a cold compress out of Carly's hands and pressing it against his forehead. "Oh shut up," he muttered, painfully.

"There, there Crow," Aki patted his shoulder as she leaned over the table, not realizing that she was flashing a nice view of her cleavage to him, "Eat something, it'll make you feel better."

Crow nodded dumbly, inconspicuously staring at her chest from the hidden angle of his folded arms.

"You just _had_ to drink that much, didn't you?" Jack chuckled.

"Hey, shut up!" Crow snapped and looked up at Jack, "It wasn't _only_ the whiskey, okay! I also couldn't sleep half the night because SOMEBODY JUST WOULDN'T STOP MOANING AND SCREAMING! And I could hear it all the way in the basement!"

It was probably one of the most awkward silences for most of them to endure. The sounds of cutlery seized as everybody stared around. Aki's face turned bright red and so did Carly's and, to a certain extent, Jack's. Ruka looked very uncomfortable, Rua and Bruno perplexed, Ushio and Mikage embarrassed. Only Yusei looked completely unwavering and just resumed eating like he'd heard nothing.

Aki was staring down at her lap, feeling like her face was on fire. Unbeknownst to her, Carly was doing the same at her side of the table while Jack was ogling Crow angrily. But Crow, instead, was staring attentively at Yusei.

Yusei sensed eyes on him and calmly looked up to meet Crow's glare. To be honest, he actually felt kind of entertained. After all, why should he be embarrassed over what had happened? It's not like he had any regrets about it. Sure, the attention brought to it was unnecessary but whatever helped Crow sleep better at night…or, rather, not sleep, haha.

It was a silent staring contest between Crow, Jack and Yusei for a few more seconds until Mikage cleared her throat. "So…I think Ushio and I should fill you guys in on recent investigations going on around the city," she said, desperately trying to change the awkward and weird topic.

"Oh, yes!" Ushio said, eagerly joining in on the reasonable conversation, "So everything is nice and peachy…mostly: no more Set's duels happening and hospitals finally caught a break and have released a lot of people."

At that time, Yusei decided to place his hand on Aki's thigh. He didn't know whether it was because he put his hand up too high or if she was _that_ lost in thought but when he touched her it nearly sent her flying. Aki jumped up, completely startled, and her knees smacked the table, knocking over some glasses.

"Oh my god, I'm sorry," Aki hurried to apologize and to fix knocked over china, "I thought I saw a spider."

Rua and Mikage began squealing in discomfort, "What, a spider? Where? Where?" while Carly watched Aki with wide eyes. An expression of realization crossed Carly's features.

Yusei was just staring up at Aki, both in disbelief and in amusement. _Amazing…just amazing_, he thought.

"Continue, Ushio," Jack pressed, "Why is everything only _mostly_ alright?"

Aki, meanwhile, sat back down, and was awkwardly wiping some of her own spilled tea with her sleeve, when Yusei's hand sneaked back onto her thigh and he leaned over to her. "Am I really that scary?" he whispered with a smile.

Aki couldn't help but to giggle. Now oblivious to everything, she moved her lips to his ear and whispered, "No, it's just that I'm still getting used to…things. It might take some time."

Yusei pulled back so he could look at her and as he gazed upon her seriously now, he whispered, "Then..would you like some _help_ in quickening the process?" Ordinarily, he would never have said anything as remotely direct and suggestive as this but he simply couldn't help it. He had never been as crazy about anyone as he was about her; it was borderline mind-numbing.

Aki stared at him and the implication in his words was even more so evident in his lustful eyes. She blushed hard and could now hear her heart thumping loudly in her ears. She did not know if her reaction was for his attractive offer or for the dirty images and desires that her mind instantly conjured up. She bit her bottom lip and was about to reply something like, "Oh my god, yes, yes, yes!" when at the corner of her eyes she noticed Crow and Carly curiously eyeing them. It was as if Aki only then realized that Yusei and her weren't alone and that they were all in a middle of an important conversation regarding city's problems. Desperately hoping that nobody had managed to eavesdrop on their intimate dialogue, Aki quickly zoned back to the group discussion just as Ushio began revealing more information.

"Well," Ushio sighed, completely unaware of the private exchange that had just happened next to him, "As expected, people do not like this duelling ban. And I can't say I blame them…although I should. As a result, there have been reports of illegal duelling rings and organizations forming."

"That sounds amazing…" Crow mumbled and looked at Jack across the table. Jack nodded in approval, both of them thinking the same thing. Surely whoever had thought of this was a genius and all of them needed to join in on this duelling fun right away.

Ushio ogled Crow with narrowed eyes as he strictly and sarcastically responded, "_Very _amazing because where there is crime it usually attracts other crime…gambling, cheating, drugs. So such spots need to be found and closed down right away and as soon as possible. It's not a game."

"Drugs? Come on, Ushio. It's_ card games_…come on," Crow chuckled, giving the first semi-useful input of the day.

"You'd think so, wouldn't you, Crow?" Mikage answered instead, "But studies and prevalence rates overwhelmingly show significant correlation rates between one type of crime and the other."

"You guys really know how to kill the buzz," Crow said with a weary sigh as he turned the cold compress over to the other side.

"Have you heard anything about Mahdi? Have any traces of him been found?" Yusei asked abruptly, bringing up an old but yet important subject matter. The illegal duel organizations didn't bother him in the least: after all, didn't all of them just last night decide to break the law as well? Additionally, why _should_ they investigate these duel organizations: people no longer suffered or died in _Sutekh Sacrifico _seals, and all they were trying to do was to resume duelling as before.

"Nothing, Yusei-san," Mikage responded, "But he's been placed on Missing Persons list. We'll inform you if anything comes up but so far it seems unlikely."

Yusei looked away, thinking. None of what was happening right now made sense. Their only connection to Set was Mahdi and now that he had disappeared they had no leads. And now that there were no more sacrificial duels happening and no more victims Yusei didn't know what exactly they were supposed to do. How could they investigate anything if there was nothing happening? Was Set only an _idea _rather than a real enemy? Was all of this some kind of a nuisance on their way rather than a real problem? But it couldn't be…too many strange things happened and too many people have suffered in order for this to be just _nothing_.

"Ushio, Mikage," Yusei called, having finally decided, "I think we could all help you out with the illegal duel rings investigation. Anything we could do to help." To be fair, he still didn't care about that but it was better to get out and do something rather than just sit and wait.

"Thank you, Yusei-san," Mikage smiled, and Ushio nodded, adding, "We'll have to go separately: The Investigation Bureau will conduct its own investigation and you guys do your own thing and we will exchange information and cross paths if we find something."

"Sounds like a plan," Crow mumbled as he finally pulled a plate full of bacon towards himself.

"Alright, keep in touch," Ushio concluded and, after thanking lunch, he and Mikage departed.

The second the front door closed behind them, Jack jumped up to his feet and slammed his fist on the table. "This is great!" he shouted excitedly, "We need to find one of these duelling rings and join: Riding Duels…challenges…and, finally, duelling people other than all of you!"

"Yes!" Rua exclaimed, joining in, "Duels will never be suppressed! They can't make us stop duelling!" Ruka laughed, agreeing with the prospect.

"Let's go now!" Bruno joined in, also getting up to leave.

"How about in five minutes? I'd like to finish breakfast," Carly requested.

"Fine…" Jack sighed and sat back down, folding his arms and tapping his foot in impatience. Carly rolled her eyes and hurried to finish her meal. Bruno engaged in a conversation with Rua and Ruka. Crow was staring at the food in front of him with some fascination.

Five minutes? But Aki did not want to leave. At least not yet. She gathered all her courage and turned to Yusei at her side, her hand locating his. "Yusei…" she whispered urgently, intertwining their fingers.

The cobalt blue gaze pierced into her with such intensity that Aki found herself gasping. "Is that what you want?" Yusei asked quietly and squeezed her hand as he awaited her additional confirmation.

With her eyes not leaving his, Aki nodded.

"Then follow me," Yusei breathed, trying to calm his heart rate that just spiked from anticipation. His hand slipped out of hers as he stood up on his feet. "Be right back," he announced to the whole group and then nonchalantly left the room.

Aki watched him leave and began fidgeting in her seat. _I can't believe he took an easy way out! And what and how am I supposed to do this now?_ Aki was thinking as she was practically squirming in frustration. Should she wait another minute? Five minutes? How long is he going to wait for her? Should she say that she needs to use the bathroom? Not say anything at all? Or just say that she's going upstairs to have sex with Yusei and thus take advantage of everyone's bewilderment?

Thankfully, it all became a bit easier when Crow let out a groan after he tried taking a bite out of a strip of bacon, and failed. "Okay, seriously?" he complained, now attempting to cut the stone-hard bacon with a knife, "WHO BURNT THIS BACON?"

Jack puffed angrily and jumped up to his feet. "It's not burnt it's just well done!" he shouted defensively.

"Bacon is not steak! There is no medium rare or well done! _Burnt _bacon cannot be forgiven!" Crow screamed as he also rose to his feet.

"Not again," Bruno mumbled dejectedly to the usual unnecessary conflict between the two friends.

"These are always so fun…" Rua whispered to his sister as he watched the unfolding scene with entertainment.

"Last time Atlas-sama ever does anything for you, you ungrateful dick!" Jack continued screaming at Crow.

"Jack, watch the language!" Carly warned as she ogled at the twins at the corner of her eyes.

"Oh, so it's fine for Crow to swear and say whatever he wants but not for me?" Jack snapped.

"No, it's _not_ fine for him either but he's not going to listen!" Carly retorted, now butting into the argument as well.

"Guys, Ruka and I don't care – you should hear the kinds of words we picked up from simply listening to Ushio when he's stressed out," Rua said, attempting to ease the tension.

"Rua, Ruka!" Carly gasped.

"Just because we don't say them doesn't mean we don't know them…" Ruka added, shyly.

"Okay, what's with the sudden censoring? See, Rua and Ruka don't care – they're almost fourteen for god's sake! I say that if we want to be pirates and swear every other word then we should be able to do whatever we want!" Crow commented.

"It's _sailors_, you idiot, not pirates," Jack corrected him and snickered.

"Shut up!" Crow shouted.

Aki finally stood up from her chair and began inconspicuously making her way out of the kitchen. "I need to get something from my room," she gave a quiet explanation but nobody had heard her in all the commotion and screaming. It all worked out well.

She closed the door behind her and turned towards the stairs leading up to all their rooms, wondering where Yusei ran off to and if she should just go to his bedroom, when she felt a strong hand grabbing hers and pulling her off around the corner.

"Hey," whispered a familiar low and soothing voice as she came face to face with its sexy blue-eyed owner.

"Hey…" Aki smiled, staring up at him in a dreamy daze, and reached up to touch his face, "I thought you left…"

"No, I was waiting for you. Took you long enough," Yusei mused and Aki pouted, faking sadness at his mocking enjoyment.

"Oh, well, if that's the case…then you wouldn't mind waiting a bit longer…" she teased, surprised at her constantly increasing confidence around him, and turned to walk away with a casual shrug. He gave her more courage than he'd ever realize.

Yusei couldn't help grinning at her words and her cute exploits. He liked this, it was beyond exciting. He wanted to play and he'd win, of course.

His stretched out arm blocked her way and Aki found herself pinned to the wall with both of his arms on either side of her, palms to the wall. As she stared up at him her eyes glistened with anticipation.

"Don't you just know exactly how to tempt me," Yusei said quietly, bringing his lips dangerously close to hers. Aki had to fight herself from enclosing that miniature distance with a passionate kiss. "And I think that you've always known…" he added.

"Perhaps…but the bigger question is: can you resist the temptation?" she whispered, involuntarily holding her breath.

"No," Yusei smiled and brushed his lips against hers but teasingly pulling back when she parted her lips for him and almost causing her to cry out from frustration. "But yielding is the best way to deal with temptation, don't you think?" he whispered.

"Yes," Aki submitted breathlessly and, closing her eyes, she engulfed his lips in a fiery and impatient kiss. Yusei responded with passion, his hands now resting on her hips as he pulled her to him until she was practically plastered against him.

Aki moaned softly into the hungry kiss when his tongue began discovering her mouth, and unsuspectingly caused Yusei to begin trembling in excitement. A single quiet noise or breath from her affected him in ways he'd never thought possible or previously experienced in intensity.

Yusei had to break the kiss because he felt like he was about to burn up. "Come," he said simply, and grabbed her hand as he rushed upstairs to his room, pulling her with him. He closed and locked the door and barely had a chance to turn around when Aki grabbed his neck and pulled him into yet another hungry kiss. Yusei kissed her as fervently in return while his hands lifted up the small white t-shirt she was wearing. He then attempted to slow down undressing her, trying not to make his other actions as rough and urgent as their kiss because he felt that he needed to be gentler and slower on her second time as well. Aki, however, had other ideas: she pulled away from their kiss just to quickly pull his t-shirt off him, practically ripping it, and then to begin speedily tugging at his pants.

Somewhere in the back of his head Yusei continued telling himself, _Slow down, slow down_, but her enthusiasm was becoming way more than he could resist. As his lips found hers again, he began backing her towards the bed, his hands already doing away with her bra, when Aki pleaded, "Hurry…hurry…" into the kiss and her arms wrapped so tightly around his neck that she was nearly dragging him down. Slowness was just painful for her this time – the whole morning until now had basically been foreplay for her and she couldn't take any more of it. She was as ready for him as she could ever be.

Before Yusei knew it, they were lying on the carpeted floor, with him on top of her, and they were still half-clothed but he didn't care. He hurriedly rolled up her skirt (thank god for skirts) and pushed aside her panties while Aki pushed down his pants along with his boxers. _Don't make noise, don't make noise, don't make noise_, she kept telling herself in her mind, affected by the accusation during breakfast today.

And then, as Yusei finally eased into her, somehow finding in himself the inhuman ability to be gentle and slow, Aki cringed and couldn't prevent a light groan escaping her lips.

"Aki, am I still hurting you?" he asked as he searched her eyes, his voice strained.

The sensation was a bit uncomfortable as she was still getting used to this but it could not even _compare_ to how amazing it felt at the very same time. "No," Aki whispered, gasping as she looked up at him, and Yusei then saw her amber eyes reflecting his own drowning desire. His mind clouded over and the last leash on his control finally snapped. Without another second of hesitation he kissed her ardently and began moving his hips hard and fast.

Downstairs, Crow sighed with ease. "Actually, now that I've eaten all of it, this bacon doesn't taste half bad," he commented as he now ogled his empty plate, "It actually tastes like it was purposefully smoked."

Jack was staring at him across the table, his jaw clenching. If looks could kill this was one of them.

"Thank god for silence," Carly mumbled with relief, removing her glasses to rub her eyes.

"I actually thought it was pretty funny," Bruno admitted but instantly went silent when Jack transferred his murderous gaze onto him.

"Okay, now this is done, can we please go searching for illegal duelling rings now?" Rua begged.

"Yes, seriously," Jack said coldly, "It's time we got out and did something."

"Alright, let's go," Carly agreed, standing up, and only then realizing that the group was missing two of its members, "Wait...where is Yusei? And Aki, for that matter?"

"Yusei said that he needs to go get something, and Aki-san...hmm, I don't even remember when and where she left," Ruka attempted to answer.

"Oh, well. I guess we could go looking for them," Rua suggested and got up, "I need to get my duel disk from my room anyway!"

Crow's eyes suddenly widened and, clearing his throat, he mumbled, "Yeah...I don't think that's a good idea."

"Why not?" Rua asked innocently.

Jack stared at Crow in confusion...and then in a moment his eyes signalled his comprehension. He also cleared his throat, "Ahem...I think that Yusei may not want to be found right now. I remember him mentioning something about working on a new D-Wheel engine yesterday. I think we should leave him be for now."

"Why? And where is Aki-neechan, then?" Rua inquired, still childlike naive even in his early teens.

Ruka, on the other hand, looked not only embarrassed but also hurt and upset. She wasn't like her brother in this regard. She suddenly realized all too well what was going on between two of their older friends and her fragile adolescent heart – and her tender, one-sided and hopeless love – have just been mercilessly crushed. But she wouldn't say anything about it and she never would.

"Weren't we supposed to help Yusei with the new engine? Wouldn't he appreciate our help?" Bruno asked, being as clueless as ever about such things.

Crow slammed his palm against his forehead while Carly hurried to join in on the excuses, "I think that we should get a head-start on this, and then Yusei, Mikage-san, Ushio-san and Aki could join us later. I think it's fair, don't you Jack and Crow?"

Jack and Crow stared at Carly and realized in unison that she comprehended the obviousness of this situation as well.

"Great idea, Carly," Crow said and began heading out, taking the lead in this matter and not willing to stand around and discuss this any longer.

"Well, whatever," Rua shrugged and followed Crow out. Ruka silently and gravely went with her brother, and Jack, Carly and Bruno hurried right after them.

"Yusei..." Aki moaned his name in ecstasy and closed her eyes when he kissed her hungrily again, stealing the desperate gasps for air from her already overexerted lungs. She gripped tightly to his shoulders and arms, holding on to him almost for dear life as he still drove into her at an urgent and passionate pace. This was so different from their first time: not only did each thrust now send a shock of pleasure, and not pain, jolting through her right from the very beginning, but just how different _he _was too. She only now realized how tense, careful and controlled he was last night and just how_ much_ more uninhibited he could have been. It was as if he finally had more freedom to move without needing to worry about hurting her. And she didn't think that Yusei could ever be like this because he seemed like he'd always be controlled and calculated, even when it would come to _this_. He never seized to surprise her and he was _so_ intense now and it was all becoming too much...just too much to take... Aki squirmed under him, borderline drowning in all the sensations, whispering something and not understanding her own words...

Yusei gave up trying to keep their kiss alive for his own rapid breathing hindered him more than Aki's muffled moans and gasps ever could. Completely lost in pleasure he was as if in frenzy this time and he couldn't do anything to stop himself. His lips found her neck and his next kiss upon her soft flesh became a bite.

And then the world suddenly froze for Aki and she let out a scream, her nails digging into his skin in near-helplessness and leaving red trails upon his back. This time, the pleasure was brief and rapid, almost as if a flash of lightning, and just as blinding. Then as it released her and her head fell back in exhaustion, Yusei was unable to hold back any longer and let go, becoming engulfed in his own powerful and draining pleasure. Aki felt his whole body tense to its limit and hearing his sudden gasp and a quiet moan was more gratifying to her than anything in her own existence.

As Yusei finally slowed down to a complete stop and relaxed, he was completely out of breath after what was a total black out of his senses. "Oh my god..." he mumbled against her neck as he desperately tried to even out his breathing, "I'm...sorry. I think I went mad."

"You were perfect," Aki told him while lovingly nuzzling to him. She was in as much of a rush as him, arguably even more so, and wouldn't have had it any other way. She embraced him even tighter, never wishing to let go, and concealed a few lone tears in his shoulder. She had never been happier...she could never be happier.

Yusei couldn't help but smile at her words and then placed a soft kiss on her cheek, beginning to trail kisses to her lips.

Everything was as it needed _to_ be.

Everything was as it had never happened before.

To him this was perfect.

Was this what being in love was like? It could be. He didn't know. He couldn't know.

Aki loosened her grip on him and smiled brightly when he kissed her.

Yusei then pulled away and looked sideways towards the bed, remarking, "We were only two steps away."

Aki bit her lip and cocked her head to the side as she gazed up at him, "Yeah...aren't we lucky you've got such a comfortable carpet?"

Yusei returned his gaze to her, smiled at her again and then rolled off her, lying down next to her flat on his back. He breathed in content, feeling remarkably clearheaded, and closed his eyes, trying to fight off the strong waves of lethargy washing over him.

After awhile, while avoiding looking at him, Aki asked timidly, "Yusei, were you surprised that I wasn't...um…you know..._experienced_?"

Yusei opened his eyes and, staring up at the ceiling, plainly replied, "No. Although I did wonder for awhile. Because of Divine."

Aki winced and looked to the side. A long minute of silence later she whispered, "That's probably what most people assumed...and I don't blame them."

Yusei turned to his side so he could look at her. He wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her closer to him, and asked, quietly, "Aki...did he ever try anything?"

"No," Aki shook her head, meeting his eyes, "He had only...kissed me once. I knew right from the beginning that he would do that someday. And I always knew that he would eventually go further."

"Did you ever like him in that way?" Yusei asked, questioning the things he had always pondered about, things that always intrinsically bothered him on some level.

"No," Aki said. She was surprised how little difficulty she was having speaking about Divine now. His death had shaken her to the core and she hadn't spoken out about him in over a year...and she always assumed that it would be a demanding subject to approach. It wasn't. She felt nothing. "No," she repeated and elaborated, "It was a forceful kiss. I didn't like it. It felt like he was trying to verify his authority and power over me...and it was exactly that. And it was right after I had duelled you, Yusei...right after you've told me that you would take on my sorrows...and that I need to think for myself and to love myself. He didn't like that – that was when he knew he was losing me."_ And that was also when I began to have feelings for you_, Aki thought.

"Aki..." Yusei whispered softly, his eyes touched by both concern and sadness.

Aki shook her head once again. "No, Yusei, don't worry – that kiss was that. He had never physically abused me. Mentally, on the other hand..." she trailed off.

"The way he went was too light of a punishment for him," Yusei said, quietly and seriously. He didn't care how that sounded. It was true and he meant every word. His stomach churned at the thoughts of how she was treated by that sadistic bastard.

Aki stared at him blankly and for a second he wondered if he went too far. He was about to apologize when a serene smile graced her face. "Yusei, you saved me..." she said and her hands cupped his face, "If you hadn't come along I-" she trailed off and then had to take a deep breath, "I had never been more thankful to anyone as much as you. And I will never stop being thankful, I-"

"No, Aki, no," he shushed her and kissed her slowly, "I did not do it as a favour. I did it for _you_. So you could be free. So you could be happy. Are you happy?"

"I am," she choked, affected by his compassion, as tears began stinging her eyes.

"Oh Aki..." Yusei whispered as he stood up to his feet and effortlessly lifted her up from the floor in his arms. As he laid her down and began stripping them both of their remaining clothing. Aki's eyes widened and she whispered, "Yusei…again?"

"Again," he climbed on top of her and locked her lips in a kiss.

Narrow alleys or spacious highways, Crow's D-Wheel sent water splashing as he raced through the puddles left behind by yesterday's storm. Glancing around, Crow contacted Jack over the headset for a hundredth time.

"Nothing. You?" Crow asked, turning the corner into yet another alley.

"Nothing," confirmed Jack and then paged in Bruno. Bruno had the same neutral update.

"Alright, guys, keep looking," Crow decided, "The city's half dead without duelling. These people must have gone somewhere. So these duelling rings can't be _that_ secretive."

Aki sighed and opened her eyes, just looking at Yusei in comfortable and happy silence. Her finger was absently playing, like a paintbrush, on the corded muscles of his stomach.

Sometime passed before Yusei stirred, tiredly, and met her gaze.

"Hi…" Aki said.

"Hi," he echoed.

"Oh god, I've no more energy," she whispered and stretched lazily against him, arching her back.

Yusei suppressed a smile: this time he had been more clearheaded, more relaxed and, all in all, better balanced, and her remark showed her approval. "Alright, then I'll give you five more minutes," he determined and swiftly caught her hand when she attempted to poke him in the ribs for his cocky reply.

"We don't have time, Yusei," Aki giggled as she buried her face in his chest, "Aren't we supposed to go illegal duel hunting with others? Everybody's waiting for us…"

"They can wait longer," he replied, running his fingers mischievously along her side, "Besides, I doubt that they need us as much as I need _you_. Right now." _God, what is she doing to me?_ he suddenly thought in bewilderment as he realized just what he had been saying to her recently, _I never thought it could be like this. I just can't help myself around her._

"Oh my…just what happened to the usually collected, responsible, and considerate Fudo Yusei?" Aki mused, getting up from the bed and beginning to get dressed much to his displeasure. Yusei wondered if she was purposefully getting dressed as slowly and as seductively as possible in order to torment him. Even if she wasn't, it was working.

"So what you're saying is that I'm usually boring?" Yusei joked and became amused by the look of remorse that suddenly overtook her. He began getting dressed as well and, since his outfit was a bit less intricate today, he was done quickly.

"Yusei…no, no, no, that's not what I meant!" Aki hurried to explain, looking at him apologetically, "I-I was just saying that-"

"Aki, you're so cute," Yusei suddenly said with a smile and Aki couldn't remember what she was trying to say in that sentence anymore. She stared at him with endearment, almost melting, until he humorously ruffled her hair and casually walked out of the room. Aki groaned, quickly fussing to fix her hair and to finish getting dressed, and then hurried after him.

When the two of them finally walked into the kitchen they saw that it was completely empty. It was then that they had also realized that the house was dead silent with the exception of them.

"Where did everyone go?" Aki questioned, curiously looking around.

Yusei returned after checking the basement and noticing that Crow's and Jack's D-Wheels, and Bruno's car were gone. "They've left without us," he reported.

"Oh I see..." Aki said, absently leaning against the kitchen counter.

A slow smile touched Yusei's lips as he looked upon her.

Aki noticed the look he was giving her and gasped, shaking her head, "Oh no, you can't be serious! _Again_?"

Grinning playfully now, Yusei closed the distance between them and lifted her up onto the counter. "Again" he said, kissing her lips, and then added, "Actually, how about here?"

"_Here_?" Aki stared at him, her eyes wide from incredulousness, "Yusei, we can't…this is just…"

"Why, what's the problem?" he pressed, his hands slipping under her skirt and nearly causing her to jump from sensation.

"Well, what if…we get caught?" Aki attempted, shivering under his touch, but already undoing his pants. It wasn't just the fact that this wasn't the bedroom, it was also the fact this was such an impersonal and shared place. But the excitement was now pumping so intensely through her veins that it became obvious to her that she mustn't be minding this that much.

"We won't," Yusei said simply and Aki was completely convinced by then. His pants were undone and around his ankles, he had finished rolling up her skirt, and Aki now wrapped her legs around his hips. She then slowly leaned closer and, vining her arms around his shoulders, placed a kiss on his neck, timidly asking, "Mine?"

Yusei closed his eyes in pleasure and smiled, nodding, "Yours." He then leaned down, kissing her neck, and inquired, "Mine?"

Aki's nails dug into his skin and she whimpered in delight. "Yours," she professed and her legs possessively pulled him closer to her.

Yusei's next kiss was on her lips and then all intelligible talking seized.

By the time Yusei and Aki made it down to the basement and to their D-Wheels, Yusei was pumped up with adrenaline and ready to take on the world while Aki was rather wobbly.

"I'm not planning on duelling…so can I go with you instead of driving?" Aki requested, putting on her helmet.

"Sure," Yusei agreed, mounting his D-Wheel, and bidding her to sit behind him.

"Oh wow…this is the second time I get to sit on the same seat as you instead of on top of your D-Wheel! What an honour!" Aki laughed as she hopped on and draped her arms around his waist.

"At this point you could sit on my lap if you really wanted to," Yusei commented, basically giving her a permission to do whatever her heart desired. Except for her to drive them while he's at the back - _that_ he won't let happen.

"Another time," Aki said and suddenly blushed, imagining a particularly dirty scenario with him. Suddenly a D-Wheel had…a few extra uses, she realized, but she was too embarrassed to disclose them.

Yusei was definitely going to take her up on that offer but not right now: they were actually going to go and find those duelling organizations Ushio talked about. So he fastened his helmet, started the engine, and in seconds they were speeding out into the night.

The more they drove the more Yusei realized just how much this duel prohibition affected everything: duelling had become such an integral part of their lifestyles that, without it, everything seemed abandoned and gloomy. The parks and malls no longer resounded with laughter now that children could no longer duel, the Duel Academy had been put on quarantine, the stadiums were closed down for an indeterminate amount of time, and the designated Riding Duel lanes were empty and ghost-like, watchfully patrolled by the police and the Investigation Bureau.

"This is depressing," Aki murmured into Yusei's ear and held onto him tighter as they drove by yet another police squad stationed on the side of the road. The police watched them carefully as if to make sure that they weren't attempting to use highways for duelling. They dismissed them without stopping, however, because duelling with an extra passenger was a very unlikely case. Yusei couldn't help but wonder just how many times unlucky Jack and Crow were stopped and interrogated about their business and why they were driving the fully equipped and ready-for-duelling D-Wheels. Seeing somebody driving a D-Wheel became a rare occurrence nowadays and it showed when, after two hours, Yusei and Aki didn't stumble on a single other D-Wheel.

Yusei's plan was simple: he wanted to find a D-Wheeler and then follow him or her in hopes that the person would potentially lead them to one of those duelling rings. And after two hours of driving around luck was finally on his side.

As Yusei crossed the bridge to the Satellite island and turned his D-Wheel onto a narrow side street, he and Aki noticed three young men standing at the distance and conversing excitedly next to their D-Wheels. It seemed like they were about to leave somewhere and were deciding on a final plan. They jumped in apprehension when they saw Yusei's approaching D-Wheel and almost made a run for it, probably assuming that he was from police, but Yusei accelerated and stopped next to them before they had a chance to leave.

"Hey there, guys, could you help us out with some directions?" Yusei requested.

The men continued staring at him with distrust but visibly relaxed when Aki peaked out from behind Yusei and added, "Please," to their request. It was as if realizing that Yusei had a girl with him made everything safe and trustworthy.

"Sure," spoke up the shortest of the three guys and smiled at them. He had slicked back brown hair, a small criminal marker on his right cheek and looked like he was in his late teens.

"Would you happen to know anything about duelling rings forming around the city? It's been ages since we've Riding Duelled and we were hoping to find some place," Yusei asked politely.

The short guy looked back at his friends and the three of them looked perplexed. "Didn't you guys get an invitation?" the brunette asked as he turned back to face Yusei.

"What invitation?" Aki asked.

"The invitation to FDA? The "Free Duellists' Association"? It was sent out to every commendable duellist in the city. It's an invitation to join an underground duelling union while this stupid prohibition is in order," the guy replied.

"We probably didn't get that invitation because we've been recently relocated," Aki attempted at an explanation.

"If you know where this FDA place is then could you take us there?" Yusei asked.

The brunette looked uncomfortable at the request. "Yeah, I don't know," he said, "They've got this list with all the duellists' names and I don't know how you could get through if you weren't invited after all. I also don't know if we're supposed to share the information on whereabouts or not: they're trying to keep this a secret from cops and whatnot."

That seemed reasonable enough but Yusei wasn't going to back off now. "How about a duel?" he suggested, "If I win then you will take us there and then we'll figure out how to get in by ourselves."

"Okay, but what do I get out of it?" the brunette questioned. And then all of a sudden, he stared at Aki and smiled. Before Yusei had a chance to make an offer, the brown-haired guy pointed at Aki and said, "How about, if I win, I get a kiss from your pretty girl?"

Aki stared at the guy in bewilderment. _What?_ she thought, _He wants to duel for a kiss? What is this, grade 9?_ At the same time, although she really didn't want to kiss this guy she wasn't worried – there was no way Yusei was going to lose and so this seemed like a reasonable and agreeable stake.

"No," Yusei refused, shaking his head. There was no way.

"Yusei!" Aki exclaimed and pulling his chin to her so he could meet her eyes, "What are you doing? It's fine, you won't lose!"

"No, Aki, I won't compromise you," Yusei said, looking at her, and Aki stared at him, wide-eyed. _He won't...compromise me? Why? It's not like I'd have to fulfill his end of the deal, Yusei never loses. _

"...Yusei?" the brown-haired short guy mumbled, stroking his chin thoughtfully, "As in...Fudo Yusei?"

"Yes," Yusei nodded, turning to face his possible opponent, "That's who I am."

"I did think you looked familiar...well, this is great!" the brunette grinned, "If that's your answer then I propose another bargain – we all know you have your ace monster, Stardust Dragon. How about, if you lose, I get your Stardust Dragon? What do you think about this deal?"

_No way_, Aki thought, _There was no way Yusei would agree to this. Stardust is his pride and soul, it's a part of him. There must be another way._

"Deal," Yusei said and Aki's next breath was a sharp intake. So he was willing to compromise his favourite monster but not her? How could he? What did this mean?

"Yusei, no..." Aki whispered, her hands clasped over her mouth.

"Trust me, Aki," Yusei flashed her a quick but confident smile but Aki just couldn't shake off a feeling of shock to his negotiation.

"Awesome, let's do this then," the brown-haired guy exclaimed and mounted his own D-Wheel, "We'll duel on this street – narrow as it is it stretches for many miles and is usually empty of patrols. The first one to reach that Stop sign takes the first turn."

"Alright," Yusei agreed and revved up his engine. Aki's hands quickly found their place back around his waist as she prepared to hold on for her life.

"My name is Higuchi Sho, by the way," the guy decided to introduce himself and put on his helmet, starting his D-Wheel. He placed the Speed World magic card into play and Yusei did the same.

"Speed World 2 set on!" both Yusei and Sho announced, and then the moment the magic card expanded the duel zone around them both of their D-Wheels took off.

* * *

_Awww, Yusei and Aki are so in love...I wonder if they'll ever tell each other that. Also, Yusei is an animal, rawr. _

_So basically for the next chapters we'll see what these illegal duelling organizations are like and why they're not as simple as our characters would like to think. Also, don't really worry about this Sho Higuchi character – I just gave him a name so that I wouldn't have to call him "brown-haired guy" for another chapter. I don't think that he'll be important to anything._

_Also, I'll finally get to write my first Riding Duel! _

_So what else could happen in Chapter 15: Will Yusei win the Riding Duel? Will Yusei and Aki get into the illegal duelling ring? Will Crow, Jack and others find their way there too? Will they find something strange in that illegal duelling organization? And will Yusei and Aki do it again (and again, and again), lol?_

_Stay tuned and you (might) find out!_


	16. Chapter 15: Unexpected directions

_Author's Note:_

_So this is Chapter 15 of "The Kingdom [be]Comes"! _

_It took a bit longer to write than I thought but writing duels always takes awhile for me – it's also a Riding Duel and that took extra effort to write. There is also some plot that I had to explain and stuff to describe so there is less Yusei x Aki than I would have liked...but I'll make up for that in later chapters._

_I have to thank all of you guys for all your reviews, favourites and putting this story on alert. An author can't ask for more awesome readers :)_

_So thank you for reading and I hope you enjoy this chapter!_

_**NineInchNailed**__. _

_PS: By the way, if you haven't checked out the new Yu-Gi-Oh 5D's Ending#5 you must: it's got serious Yusei x Aki in the end! Eeeeeeeee!_

_

* * *

_

"_**Life is under no obligation to give us what we expect."**_

_~Margaret Mitchell._

_

* * *

_

The two years of constantly upgrading his D-Wheel engine really did wonders: even though he had an additional passenger Yusei still effortlessly accelerated past Sho Higuchi and obtained the first turn.

"My turn, draw," Yusei declared and drew a card.

[Yusei Fudo]

[**Beginning of Turn One**: 0 Monsters; 0 Cards on Field; 6 Cards in hand; LP4000]

|[Yusei's Speed Counters: 0]|

|[Sho's Speed Counters: 0]|

Aki looked over Yusei's shoulder at the cards attached to the left arm of his D-Wheel. She saw that his first hand consisted of three monsters and three Trap cards. A pretty neutral hand although Yusei had a tendency to surprise and go against odds.

"I summon Dead Guardna in Defence Mode," Yusei proclaimed and a Level 4 white robotic monster appeared, its attack points at zero but its defence points at 1900. "I also place two cards face down on the field and end my turn," he concluded as two face down cards appeared.

[Yusei Fudo]

[**End of Turn One**: Dead Guardna (Lvl.4) ATK0/DEF1900 in Defence Mode; 2 Face down Cards; 3 Cards in hand; LP4000]

|[Yusei's Speed Counters: 0]|

|[Sho's Speed Counters: 0]|

Yusei looked into his left mirror and saw Aki glancing over at his cards with a thoughtful look on her face. "Bored?" he teased.

Aki gasped, directing her gaze to his reflection. "Never!" she instantly responded, distraught by his deduction.

The corners of Yusei's mouth tugged upward by her response. And just as he thought that she couldn't get any cuter...

"Okay, my turn," the guy named Sho Higuchi announced, accelerating so that he was now on the same eye-level with Yusei, and drew a card.

[Sho Higuchi]

[**Beginning of Turn One**: 0 Monsters; 0 Cards on Field; 6 Cards in hand; LP4000]

|[Yusei's Speed Counters: 1]|

|[Sho's Speed Counters: 1]|

"When my opponent controls a monster and I don't, I can normal summon Big Piece Golem without tributing. Big Piece Golem, come forth in Attack Mode!" Sho said and a Level 5 monster, shaped as a big gray rock, appeared, its attack points at 2100 and its defence at 0.

"Now, Big Piece Golem, attack his Dead Guardna!" Sho exclaimed and watched as his monster went in for the attack.

"No," Yusei said simply and flipped up one of his face down cards, "I activate my Trap card, Scrap-Iron Scarecrow – once per turn I can negate your attack. Then this card is set back face-down on the field instead of being sent to the Graveyard." The metallic scarecrow appeared and took the attack of the Big Piece Golem onto itself, negating it, before returning into its face-down position.

"Ah, I should have predicted that," Sho mumbled and, after a few more seconds of deliberation, he set three cards face down on the field and ended his turn.

The two of Sho's friends caught up with the duellists, trailing some distance after Yusei and Sho, not wanting to miss out on a duel.

[Sho Higuchi]

[**End of Turn One**: Big Piece Golem (Lvl.5) ATK2100/DEF0 in Attack Mode; 3 Cards on Field; 2 Cards in hand; LP4000]

|[Yusei's Speed Counters: 1]|

|[Sho's Speed Counters: 1]|

"Aren't both of you Duel Riders? Why did you take on an extra passenger?" Sho decided to inquire.

Yusei gave him a look of indifference. It wasn't like this was any of his business.

"My D-Wheel is going through some repairs," Aki decided to answer, figuring that there was no harm in casual talk, "But how do you guess that I'm a D-Wheeler?"

"I'm not guessing, I _know_ – you two are on the Team 5D's, the winners of WRPG tournament. I was part of the team in the WRPG as well: unfortunately we weren't able to make it all the way to face you guys," Sho explained.

"Who were you with?" Yusei asked.

"I was with Duel Warriors and we lost the preliminary rounds to the team lead by Sherry LeBlanc," Sho informed them with a disappointed sigh.

_Ugh, Sherry? _Aki thought in sudden outburst of annoyance, _She's everywhere! And I remember how smug she was about winning that duel too. She just had to come in on our own celebration and boast about it. _

"I heard about that battle although have not personally witnessed it," Yusei said and drew a card, declaring his turn.

[Yusei Fudo]

[**Beginning of Turn Two**: Dead Guardna (Lvl.4) ATK0/DEF1900 in Defence Mode; 2 Face down Cards; 4 Cards in hand; LP4000]

|[Yusei's Speed Counters: 2]|

|[Sho's Speed Counters: 2]|

Yusei wheeled sharply to the right to avoid a rusted garbage bin lying in the middle of the road, and his move caused Aki to squeeze him so tightly that for a moment he felt like he would suffocate.

"I summon Hyper Synchron in Attack mode," Yusei said and a blue robotic Level 4 monster, its attack at 1600 and defence at 1800 points, appeared.

"A Tuner monster?" Sho mumbled.

_Yusei is getting his Stardust out already? Amazing..._ Aki thought.

"Now I tune my Level 4 Hyper Synchron to my Level 4 Dead Guardna," Yusei went on and activated the silver Synchro card after showing it to Sho, "Clustering hopes will become a new shining star. Become the path its light shines upon. Synchro Summon! Take flight, Stardust Dragon!"

Aki lost her breath watching Yusei's beautiful silver dragon take flight and unleash its piercing roar.

Sho also seemed speechless as he stared up at the magnificent dragon which he could get should he win this duel.

"When Hyper Synchron is used for the Synchro Summoning of a dragon monster, that monster gains extra 800 attack points. So Stardust Dragon now has 3300 attack points," Yusei said, observing his dragon growing in strength.

"Not so fast!" Sho intervened and flipped up one of his three face down cards, "I activate my Trap card, Overworked – this card destroys each monster whose Attack points are higher than its original Attack points. Your Stardust is going straight to the Graveyard!"

Yusei shook his head and activated his own face down card, the one besides Scrap-Iron Scarecrow, "My trap card, Remote Revenge, can deflect the effect of a Trap when my monster becomes a target of destruction. The target of your Trap then becomes your own monster, Big Piece Golem."

"Oh fuck me," Sho muttered as his only monster shattered into pieces, leaving him defenceless with the exception of his two face down cards.

"And now, Stardust Dragon, attack his Life Points directly. Shooting sonic!" Yusei directed his dragon into attack and Sho growled as a Solid Vision blast obliterated his Life Points down to 700 in one turn. His Speed Counters went down to zero and his D-Wheel decelerated, pushing him back behind Yusei.

"Yusei..." Aki smiled, awestruck.

"Due to Hyper Synchron' effect, Stardust Dragon is removed from game at the end of my turn," Yusei said and then, as Stardust disintegrated, he concluded, "I place three cards face down on the field and end my turn," and three hidden cards appeared in mid-air in addition to his Scrap-Iron Scarecrow, and then disappeared.

[Yusei Fudo]

[**End of Turn Two**: 0 Monsters; 4 Face down Cards; 1 Card in hand; LP4000]

|[Yusei's Speed Counters: 2]|

|[Sho's Speed Counters: 0]|

Yusei looked over his shoulder at Sho, finding himself to be a bit underwhelmed by his tactics. He expected a bit more from a WRPG duellist. And at this point he no longer had to wonder just how Sherry beat Sho's whole team just by herself...even if this discredited her a little.

Aki, on the other hand, was anything but bored even if this was Déjà vu for her in some way: being such a personal spectator on Yusei's Riding Duel, seeing what he sees, and enjoying every moment of it. And at the same time this was quite different and so, so much better: for starters, Yusei wasn't duelling Sherry who was so snobby and hitting on him non-stop for the duration of that duel. That was quite annoying and so this guy Sho thus seemed much more likeable. Second, she wasn't sitting awkwardly and hazardously on top of a D-Wheel but comfortably seated behind Yusei. It was so much hotter like this too and she could now hold on to him as intimately as she wanted. And third, this wasn't happening at an allocated duel lane but, rather, on a narrow abandoned Satellite street which made her feel like she was experiencing a significant part of Yusei's life, his struggling Satellite past. Aki closed her eyes, momentarily relishing in the feeling of the cool breeze on her face as well as the heat of the body she was holding on to.

"No monsters on the field but for trap cards, huh? Okay, let's go," Sho said and declared his turn, drawing a card.

[Sho Higuchi]

[**Beginning of Turn Two**: 0 Monsters; 2 Face down Cards; 3 Cards in hand; LP700]

|[Yusei's Speed Counters: 3]|

|[Sho's Speed Counters: 1]|

Sho looked at the card he drew and was about to play it when his eyes looked forward and he suddenly looked shocked.

Aki noticed his expression and quickly looked to the direction of his surprise. She instantly gasped at the image of flashing police lights at the distance: there was a road block waiting for them and with the speed they were all going they would crash into the police squad in ten seconds.

Yusei saw all of that moments earlier than either Sho or Aki and, by the time Aki opened her mouth to warn him, he already knew what to do. "There," he said, gesturing his arm to the side street they were about to pass and turned sharply into it. Aki let out a quiet squeak of terror, grabbing onto him tighter than ever as she felt like she was about to fall off. Sho followed his command instantly and was now trailing behind them, while his friends reversed and drove the other way.

"Do you want to stop this?" Sho called out to Yusei.

"No," Yusei responded although added, "But we could."

Sho laughed, shaking his head, "No way!"

Yusei smiled, nodding his approval. _Now this will be fun_, he thought.

_These guys are crazy_, Aki thought in bafflement, looking back and seeing that the police squad had just turned around the corner to their alley, apparently having decided to chase them after splitting into two groups: five people going after Sho's friends, and four people going after them. What added even more so to her shock was the fact that the squad going after them was led by a large-framed man whom she instantly identified as Ushio.

"Yusei, it's Ushio!" she hissed, "He'll know it's us!"

"He won't if he doesn't catch up," Yusei said calmly and then accelerated, nearly doubling his speed, and becoming pleased with the fact that Sho caught up to him while Ushio's squad drastically fell behind. Apparently the Investigation Bureau still hasn't invested in WRPG-type engines for their D-Wheels.

Aki found herself believing Yusei without a grain of doubt and, despite everything going on, relaxed.

"I summon Marauding Captain in attack mode," Sho announced and a knight in silver armour and a cape, a Level 3 monster with attack of 1200 and defence of 400, showed up on the field. "When Marauding Captain is Normal Summoned, I can Special Summon one Level 4 or lower monster from my hand. So I pick Command Knight to appear in attack mode!" Sho continued and another knight showed up, this time a Level 4 monster and its attack at 1200 and its defence at 1900 points, "Command Knight's special effect is that it cannot be targeted for an attack while another Warrior-type monster is in play – so while Marauding Captain is on my field, Command Knight cannot be targeted! And lastly, when I have one or more Speed Counters I can activate a Speed Spell – Mystical Space Typhoon. I can destroy one Spell or Trap card on the field and so I choose to destroy your Scrap-Iron Scarecrow – you are now open for direct attack!"

Aki stared at Yusei's face in his side mirror and saw that he didn't look at all concerned despite having no monsters for defence and now also having his Scrap-Iron Scarecrow destroyed. If anything, he looked like he was very entertained. And as if to reaffirm his fun and control to her, Yusei flipped up a Trap card.

"I activate Slip Summon – after my opponent summons a monster, I can Special Summon a Level 4 or less monster from my hand to Defence position. So I summon Shield Wing," Yusei said and a Level 2 monster in a form of a scrawny-looking green dragon appeared, its attack at 0 and its defence at 900. Letting a direct attack through was never in his plans, even without his Scrap-Iron Scarecrow.

"Hmm, okay," Sho mumbled at the interruption but was unfazed when he continued, "As long as Command Knight is on the field, it increases the attack of all Warrior-Type monsters by 400 points. So both my Marauding Captain and Command Knight have their attacks increased!" His two monsters grew larger in size, as if emphasizing their increased strength. "And now, I attack Shield Wing with Marauding Captain!" Sho commanded with a smile and watched as his monster, now with attack power of 1600, slashed its sword at the bony dragon. His smile vanished when he realized that Yusei's monster remained on the field after it was supposed to be destroyed.

"What the..." Sho began.

"Shield Wing cannot be destroyed up to two times in battle," Yusei explained. Aki smiled, knowing that this was definitely a good defence monster for Yusei to pick.

"Alright, then I activate my Trap card, Battle Mania!" Sho announced and activated one of his trap cards, "All Monsters my opponent controls are changed to Attack position. So your Shield Wing is now in Attack mode with only 0 attack points! So now, Command Knight – attack Shield Wing!"

Yusei frowned as his Shield Wing got smashed into pieces but right before damage calculations began applying, he flipped up his second to last face down card. "I activate Defence Draw – any battle damage I take is reduced to zero and I get to draw one card from my deck," Yusei said, protecting both his Life Points and his Speed Counters, and drew a card.

Sho let out a sigh of frustration and ended his turn.

[Sho Higuchi]

[**End of Turn Two**: Command Knight (Lvl.4) ATK1600/DEF1900 in Attack mode/ Marauding Captain (Lvl. 4) ATK1600/DEF400 in Attack mode; 1 Face down Card; 1 Card in hand; LP700]

|[Yusei's Speed Counters: 3]|

|[Sho's Speed Counters: 1]|

"Take a right into the next alley," Sho suggested to Yusei, "That leads to the Shinjuku East boulevard."

"Why there?" Aki asked.

"Because most of the buildings there have been demolished with plans to reconstruct that part of the city. But since the construction has been indefinitely delayed, it's currently an abandoned Satellite district," Yusei answered, recognizing Sho's plan. He himself knew that region inside and out, having often driven through it years before the uniting of Neo Domino and Satellite: it was ruins then and it was ruins still.

"Yes," Sho nodded, "The police don't know their way around these streets well and all the scraps, junk and dead-ends in Shinjuku district will severely hinder them."

"That's a plan," Yusei agreed and drew a card.

[Yusei Fudo]

[**Beginning of Turn Three**: 0 Monsters; 1 Card on Field; 2 Cards in hand; LP4000]

|[Yusei's Speed Counters: 4]|

|[Sho's Speed Counters: 2]|

Yusei took a sharp right turn into Sho's recommended street, leaving tire marks on the pavement, and then accelerated, bouncing back to the high speed that let them outrun Ushio's squad. Sho followed after him.

Yusei took a look at the Speed Spell he just drew and smiled. Aki caught a quick glance of it and guessed that Yusei will probably be going for a finale.

"When I have two or more Speed Counters I can activate my Speed Spell, Angel Baton," Yusei said and played a card, "By discarding one card from my hand I get to draw two cards." He sent his Bolt Hedgehog into the Graveyard and then drew two more cards.

"Now, when my opponent has monsters on the field and I have none, I can Special Summon Level Warrior from my hand," Yusei went on and summoned a Level 3 monster with attack points of 300 and defence points of 600, its appearance that of a caped superhero, "When Level Warrior is Special Summoned this way, its Level rises to 4. And then I Normal Summon Nitro Synchron in attack mode," Yusei said and a pink robotic-like Tuner monster, Level 2 and with attack of 300 and defence of 100 points, appeared. For a second Yusei tore away from the duel at hand to check out his mirrors for Investigation Bureau. He saw the flashing blue lights but they were at an impressively far distance; additionally, even though the police was using a megaphone to call out for them to stop, those orders could barely reach them.

Yusei switched his full attention back to the duel, and continued, "Additionally, when I Normal Summon a monster this turn, I can Special Summon Oneshot Booster," and a yellow robotic monster with Level 1 and attack and defence points of zero showed up. Yusei then pulled out a card that suddenly appeared out of his Graveyard and showed it to Sho, saying, "Lastly, when there is a Tuner monster on my field, I can Special Summon Bolt Hedgehog from my Graveyard." So another monster appeared on his field, this one in a shape of a hamster and its attack and defence points both of 800 and its Level was 2. He didn't actually need Bolt Hedgehog for what he had planned but an additional monster couldn't hurt.

"Did you seriously just summon four monsters in one turn?" Sho mumbled in disbelief, his eyes wide. Even Aki was astonished by this feat and she had seen Yusei practically perform miracles when duelling. Additionally, Aki saw then that she was slightly mistaken. She thought that Yusei would be trying to bring back Stardust Dragon but he wasn't: he was going for a different Synchro Summon.

"Now I tune my Level 2 Nitro Synchron to my Level 4 Level Warrior and to my Level 1 Oneshot Booster," Yusei continued like it was nothing, "Clustering feelings will now become a new force! Become the path its light shines upon! Synchro Summon! Blaze on, Nitro Warrior!" And a Level 7 monster, shaped as a large green robotic-monster with a canon, appeared, with attack points of 2800 and defence points of 1800. "When Nitro Synchron is used as a Tuner material for Synchro Summoning of Nitro Warrior I get to draw one card," Yusei declared and added an additional card to his hand. And then he simply said, "Since your Command Knight's effect gives extra 400 attack points to a Warrior-type monster, Nitro Warrior's attack increases to 3200 points."

Nitro Warrior let out a battle roar and increased in size.

_Is this over_? Aki thought_, Even though Sho still has one face down card?_

Sho was chewing on his bottom lip while not looking very happy with what was happening.

"Since your Command Knight cannot be selected as an attack target, I will choose Marauding Captain instead. Nitro Warrior, attack!" Yusei ordered and watched as Nitro Warrior plunged into attack, destroying Marauding Captain in a moment.

Aki held her breath, convinced that Yusei had just won a duel, but her good mood vanished when Sho quickly flipped up his one face down card. "I activate Barrel Behind the Door Trap card!" Sho announced, "All the damage that I receive goes to my opponent's Life Points instead! Get prepared for 1600 points of damage, Yusei!"

Aki stared at her lover worriedly as 1600 Life Points were drained from him. Yusei, however, was completely unfazed when his Life Points went down to 2400 and his Speed Counters decreased to 3. He began smiling instead.

"Why are you smiling?" Sho inquired impatiently.

"I activate my own Trap card, Synchro Destructor," Yusei answered and turned over the only trap card left on his field, "When my Synchro monster destroys an opponent's monster by battle, Synchro Destructor inflicts damage to my opponent's Life Points equal to half the attack power of the destroyed opposing monster. Marauding Captain's attack points were at 1600, so that makes it 800 points of damage."

"Yusei!" Aki exclaimed in amazement. Since Sho had only 700 Life Points left it still rendered Yusei a winner despite the fact that Sho countered his main deadly attack.

Sho stared at his opponent in shock for a few seconds before a slow smile crossed his features as well. "What a great duel," he commented with approval while his Life Points went down to zero.

[**Winner**: Yusei Fudo]

It was customary to make a complete stop when duel ended but this wasn't something they could do right now. Sho accelerated so he and Yusei could be on the same eye level and spoke up. "Thank you for the duel," he said, "Even though I lost I have definitely learnt a lot. You are not to be underestimated, Fudo Yusei!"

"That was definitely a good battle," Yusei nodded and added, "If you ever want to duel again it would be great, Sho-kun."

"Sounds like a plan!" Sho grinned, "And now to pay off my end of the bargain: FDA is about a twenty minute drive away from here. It's located in Neo Domino unlike what the Investigation Bureau is probably assuming."

"Please take us there before the police catches up," Aki requested.

"That's what we decided on," Sho confirmed and then accelerated past Yusei's D-Wheel, taking the lead and calling out to them, "Follow me!" before he sped off at nearly one hundred kilometres an hour.

Yusei sped up right after Sho and they were soon crossing the bridge to Neo Domino, having completely lost Ushio's squad by then. Not even the police patrols stationed at various spots on the bridge delayed them for longer than a few seconds.

After leading them through the heart of Neo Domino, Sho finally started slowing down when they were close to the edge of the city. He made a complete stop when they reached some kind of a closed-roof stadium.

"Isn't this place out of order?" Yusei asked.

"That's the point," Sho responded and lead them towards the entrance. It had an "Out of Order" sign hanging at the front and the wide doors were barricaded with wood planks. Sho knocked on the door and patiently waited for thirty seconds before the peep hole opened and some gloomy brown eyes peeked out. "This place is under construction, go away," the man behind the eyes informed them.

"What about freedom?" Sho asked.

Apparently that was the password of some sort because the peep hole closed and then the wide doors began parting in the middle, the fenced up planks evidently only for show.

"We're wheeling our D-Wheels in there – nobody parks outside or else it'd be too obvious," Sho indicated to Yusei and Aki and the three of them pushed the motorcycles inside, the doors behind them closing.

Yusei and Aki involuntary took a sharp breath as they bestowed upon what was definitely a feat of organizational accomplishment: the multiplex had six levels – four higher up, one on the ground level and one underground – and on each of those levels was a different duelling arena with Riding Duels already underway – the floors were also slightly transparent so it was possible to observe a different Riding Duel from any floor; there were hundreds of designated ground duelling spots where there were people duelling and encircled by cheering spectators; there were numerous large TV screens alternating between showing the current city news and current duels; there was a colossal parking space situated on the side accommodating hundreds of cars and D-Wheels; and there was a tight security like no other.

"Name?" barked a booming voice and the three of them stared up at the bulky man holding up what looked like an electronic clipboard.

"I'm Higuchi Sho," Sho hurried to answer and the man quickly scanned through the clipboard and, having found his name there, he waved at him to pass.

Sho gave Yusei and Aki an anxious look and hurried to walk through.

"Name?" the bulky man repeated.

"Fudo Yusei and Izayoi Aki," Yusei answered for both of them. Aki gulped as the bouncer looked through the electronic list – she didn't want to imagine what could happen if they weren't on it. Would he just tell them to leave or would something worse happen since nobody was supposed to know about this place? Yusei, meanwhile, attentively noticed the names of Jack Atlas and Crow Hogan flashing for a split second as the man searched.

It seemed almost like an eternity before the man had finally found their names there and allowed them through.

Yusei pushed his D-Wheel into the closest parking spot and saw Sho waiting for them there.

"You guys made it! Although it would have been a real shocker if you didn't," Sho said excitedly. Yusei nodded while Aki sighed with relief.

"Okay, I'll show you the basics and then I'll go and wait for my friends," Sho decided and lead them to one of the large computer screens situated on the sides of the arena. "It's easy," he said as he touched the screen, "You type your name and then your duelling profile shows up." Sho demonstrated this by typing his name and in a moment his picture and various stats appeared on the screen. "So this is just the basic stuff that's probably been downloaded from WRPG database – so here you can see various tournaments and official duels I've been in, my winning and losing rate, my Ace card, my deck-type, Riding or Ground Duel preference, and blah blah blah. And here is where you look up other people in the FDA," Sho clicked on a link which opened the screen to a large list of names categorized alphabetically, "You can also choose to see all the members by their reputation or by their winning rate. Last I checked I think you were in the top ten," Sho said, looking at Yusei.

Yusei just shrugged while Aki smiled.

"Alright, and here is one more thing you should probably know: if you click here, it will take you to your Challenges page. It shows here the duellists that decided to challenge you to a duel – and you can simply choose to accept or refuse – and then people's replies to you if you challenged anyone," Sho pointed at the column containing some people who challenged him and then another column showing the replies of people he himself had challenged, ranging from "Refused," to "Accepted," to "Awaiting Reply." Sho then showed them one last page and concluded, "And here is the FDA schedule for Riding Duels – since there are only six arenas, you need to book a time and a date and, preferably, a time estimation although four hours is always the maximum allotted. That's really it, I think. This place is open 24/7 and I think there is a minimum age of 16+ to be here – they probably don't think that younger kids could keep a secret. Additionally, you don't really have to be too formal about going about duels, you can always just challenge whomever you see and hope they're not too busy."

"This is insane," Aki whispered and Yusei agreed with her. How did something so intricate, so well thought-out, so organized and so immense managed to build itself in a matter of days?

"Okay, I'll go wait for my friends," Sho finished and turned to face them, "It was nice to meet both of you. I'll see you guys around and, Fudo Yusei, it would be an honour to duel you again someday!"

"Thank you for everything, Sho-kun," Yusei said and both of them shook hands before Sho departed.

Yusei and Aki were then alone...with the exception of numerous people, duels and overall loud crowds everywhere. Yusei stared at Aki silently and then turned to the computer screen, beginning to type his own name in.

"What are you thinking?" Aki asked him quietly, looking around with a mix of anxiety and curiosity.

"That this is suspicious," Yusei responded with a frown, and then skimmed through his duelling profile, noting the 100% win rate, the current title, and the FDA ranking of "#1." He also saw a long list of at least fifty requests to duel him. "You want to check yours?" he asked Aki but she just shook her head, instead mumbling, "What are we going to do now, Yusei?"

"Walk around," was his answer. Aki nodded, agreeing that this the best thing to do.

They slowly and cautiously walked around the ground-floor duelling arena, with Yusei generally observing the duels in front of them and with Aki looking around nonstop at everything. There were even food, coffee and snacks places alongside with spots to sit and relax. It was basically a freaking mall...exclusive only for duellists.

After checking out every floor of the multiplex they finally stopped at the top level. Aki pressed her hands against the glass separating the duelling arena and sighed, at this point unable to hide her fascination and awe with this place, regardless of some worries. This was amazing and it allowed people to be free after the duelling prohibition hindered each and every single one of them.

Yusei absently looked away from the duel at hand and checked his cellphone. There was no reception although that was expected: they probably didn't want anyone contacting the outside and spreading the information while in here. Speaking about _them_ – who was it that had organized all this? Who was the creator of this place and of the Organization? Yusei began searching the floor they were on, trying to find some designated place that would be indicative of somebody in authority or power.

Aki breathed on the glass and then pulled back, noticing the condensation her breath left. With a smile she drew a small heart with her finger and shyly looked at Yusei. She lowered her eyes in sadness when she realized that he wasn't looking at her but was instead staring off somewhere at the distance.

"Aki...there," Yusei said and pointed at what looked like an announcer's box at the far end of the multiplex, hanging right above the six duelling arenas and having a nice view of everything going on. His expression and voice did not conceal his alarm.

Aki stared at the source of his gesture, for a moment wondering what it was that grabbed his attention, when her next breath became a gasp: the slightly dimmed glass of the announcer's box revealed what looked like a control room – due to some monitors and controls she distinguished – and some people in it. And one of those people was the pale white-haired young man who was none other than Mahdi. Mahdi seemed alive and well and was saying something to an unknown tall man in a suit, whose face was completely concealed by the shadows.

Yusei turned to one of the random passing-by duellists. "Excuse me," Yusei asked and the guy stopped, listening to him courteously, "Would you happen to know who that is?" Yusei said and gestured towards the people in the announcer box.

The random guy looked at their direction attentively for a few seconds before speaking up. "I don't know who the white-haired guy is," the stranger said, "But the hidden guy next to him is supposed to be the owner and the organizer of this place. Nobody knows who he is though but apparently he's somebody from the higher up with interest in keeping duelling games alive."

Yusei thanked him and then ran off in the direction of the box. Aki ran after him and when she caught up she saw him standing off on a side and quickly looking for something in the computer system.

"He's not here," Yusei mumbled to her when she approached him and stared at her, his eyes expressing his unease, "He's not in the system as one of the duellists."

"Mahdi?" Aki looked at the list of FDA members he pulled up and saw that he was right, "What are you planning to do, Yusei?"

"Have a talk," Yusei responded. To be fair he wasn't going to have just a talk. He was also going to challenge Mahdi to a duel and pay him back for what he did to Crow and for all the people that suffered in the sacrificial duels. Since this Mahdi seemed to be their only link to Set this was his only chance. Additionally, if Mahdi and that unknown man were behind FDA then something bad might be going on.

Aki stared up at him with concern. She didn't think this was a good idea but she figured that this was the only reasonable thing they could do. "Okay," she nodded and began walking in the direction of the control room when his stretched out arm in front of her stopped her.

"Wait for me here," Yusei requested gently. He didn't want her to come with him because he didn't think that this was a necessarily safe thing. Also, he remembered how Aki forced Mahdi and Crow's duel to end and knocked Mahdi out using her powers, and so he didn't think that Aki should come near Mahdi. Ever. Who knows – what if he would want to hurt her?

"Yusei-" Aki began protesting.

"Please?" Yusei insisted, grabbing her shoulders.

Aki was very unhappy about this. She couldn't shake off her worry and she didn't want Yusei to go and have a talk by himself with a guy related to hundreds of deaths and who had almost killed Crow. But he was almost pleading her and she just could not make herself go against his wishes.

"Be careful," Aki finally said, conceding, and reached up on her tiptoes to gently kiss him on the lips. Yusei returned the kiss and, after flashing her a quick smile, he left in the direction of the control room. Aki leaned against the wall, folding her arms, and nervously chewed on her bottom lip as she waited for him to return.

As Yusei finally reached the place he saw that the entrance to the room was blocked by two guards. "There's no passing here," one of the guards informed him coolly.

For a second Yusei contemplated punching them out of his way the way he once did on his way to see Jack and Rex Godwin but instead decided that being polite would probably work better this time.

"I need to talk to someone from that room. It's important," Yusei said.

"Sorry, no passing," the guard repeated.

"Why don't you tell Mahdi that he has some unresolved business," Yusei said.

The guard suddenly looked apprehensive. He stared at the other guard who seemed just as uncomfortable. "Um..." the guard finally mumbled, apparently not knowing what to do, "Hold on," he decided and stepped inside the room, closing the door behind him.

Yusei didn't have to wait too long. Less than a minute later the door opened and Mahdi came out. He seemed aggravated.

"Who are you and why are you wasting my time?" Mahdi questioned, staring at him with his eyes narrowed.

"My name is Fudo Yusei and, after you fought my friend Hogan Crow in a duel, I have a few questions I'd like answered," Yusei answered coldly.

Mahdi stared at him in what seemed like a mix of confusion and boredom before a devilish smile crossed his features. "Ah, I see now," Mahdi snickered, "I recognize you now – you're just another one of WRPG's Team 5D's. The leader too, I presume? Oh well. I'm not really interested in you or your team anymore, Fudo Yusei – even my duel with your friend Crow was a waste of my time. Although, to be fair, I wouldn't mind having another discussion with him."

Yusei frowned. "Why Crow?" he asked, "Why not have your _discussion_ with me instead?"

Mahdi laughed harder before he replied, "Why do I need to talk to _you_? I have nothing to talk to you about. You offer me nothing. Your friend Crow, on the other hand, has something I want and I do intend to get it. Eventually."

Yusei clenched his hands into fists. What is it that Mahdi had wanted from Crow? And why did Mahdi challenge Crow to a duel to begin with? Yusei suddenly realized that he'd never asked Crow about Mahdi – could Crow possibly know something about this? But if it was something important then wouldn't he have mentioned it to them by now?

"If you want to get to Crow you're going to have to go through me," Yusei informed Mahdi. At this point it was a simple and pure truth and there was no other way around it.

Mahdi sighed as if he was desperately trying to remain patient and listen to what Yusei was saying. "Is it a duel that you want, Fudo Yusei? Alright, as you wish. I guess I should have expected that one of you would eventually come to avenge your friend – I think I'm getting a taste of my own medicine, how ironic is that?" Mahdi chuckled and then looked away, waving his hand as if dismissing him, "But before we duel you should probably prove your worth to me. Duel a top ranked duellist to show me that I wouldn't be wasting my time. And if you win against them I'll consider duelling you. So why don't you check the FDA ranking list and see who's ranked the highest?"

"That would be me," Yusei responded.

Mahdi stared at him and Yusei distinguished notes of surprise in his expression. After a few moments of bewilderment Mahdi laughed. "Well done," he said, "Still, if that's the case, then pick somebody from the Top 5 and duel them anyway. And _then_ I'll accept your challenge. Is that a deal?"

"Alright," Yusei agreed without hesitation. His eyes conveyed his loathing.

"Do that as soon as possible, Fudo Yusei, I'm a busy man," Mahdi concluded and then, without uttering another word, disappeared back into the room, slamming the door in Yusei's face.

_This was definitely an unexpected outcome_, Yusei thought as he walked away, _But at least we're no longer at the complete dead-end – coming here was a right decision._

He quickly skimmed through the Top 10 and, as he had expected, he saw Jack – who was ranked second after him – Crow, Aki and Sherry among the best duellists, as well as some people they had previously duelled in the WRPG. He also checked for Bruno, Rua and Ruka but he couldn't find them on the list. For Mahdi's challenge Yusei settled on Jean from Team Unicorn – Jean was an commendable duellist who, during the WRPG, had decided that he wanted to win honourably although he could have easily won had he simply ended his turn. Yusei figured that this was a good time to have another battle with him – rather than duel one of his friends – and so he sent Jean a duel request.

When Yusei finally made his way back to Aki, he realized, looking at her, that he should probably never be allowed to leave her alone: he was gone maybe ten minutes and she was already circled by two random guys.

Aki smiled shyly at the guy who introduced himself as Koichi as he continued showering her with compliments. "I just couldn't help but notice how cute you were, you know?" Koichi was saying, "I just had to stop and say hi. Female duellists – especially some as cute as you – don't come around often!"

"Thanks," Aki mumbled, absently tucking a lock of hair behind her ear. What else could she say to _that_? It wasn't often that she got so blatantly hit on and she didn't really know how to react.

"Would you also happen to be a D-Wheeler?" the second guy asked her. Aki couldn't remember his name – it was Sakuya or something like that.

"Yes," Aki nodded.

The guy who-was-Sakuya-maybe let out a happy sigh.

"So are you going to tell us your name?" the guy named Koichi playfully asked her.

Yusei's jaw clenched as he watched the interaction from afar. Why was she so nice to these guys especially when they had such obvious and vile intentions? He didn't know that he was capable of despising total strangers so much and so suddenly. Without wasting another second, he neared the little group and nonchalantly pushed the two guys out of his way, mumbling, "Excuse me," as he stopped in front of Aki.

"Yusei, hi..." Aki greeted him with a dreamy smile.

"Hi," Yusei said and then grabbed her as he pulled her into an ardent kiss.

Aki gasped, taken aback by the suddenness of his action, but she was simply unable to be unresponsive to him for longer than a split second. She let out a soft moan and encircled her arms around his neck, returning the kiss and deepening it.

"Wow...get a room," sounded an annoyed and discontented complaint from one of the guys.

Yusei broke the kiss as abruptly as he had initiated it and then possessively took a hold of Aki's hand. "Let's leave," he said and, without acknowledging the two guys or even waiting her reply, he pulled her away.

Aki was just too surprised to say anything, and after she politely waved goodbye at Koichi and Sakuya-or-something, she let Yusei lead her away. It didn't take her too long to begin hyperventilating from happiness, however: Yusei was holding her hand. For everyone to see! She felt kind of idiotic for being so ecstatic at something so simple – especially since she had sex with him for a third time today just hours ago – but it just meant so much to her. It was as if he was affirming that she was, indeed, his. Aki couldn't help but wish that Sherry was here to see this...it'd be too good to be true if that happened.

Also, was it her or was Yusei acting like he was a little jealous? If it was true then it was the cutest thing ever and Aki couldn't help smiling widely at the thought.

Yusei stopped at the elevators and pushed the "Down" button, waiting. Still holding Aki's hand, he turned to look at her and noticed a bright smile on her face. "What?" he asked, demanding to know the source of her amusement. If she was laughing at him then it wasn't funny! Besides, he didn't do anything that warranted laughter...right?

"Nothing," Aki replied, looking down and trying to hide her smile. It didn't work and she actually began giggling.

"What?" Yusei asked again, eyeing her.

The look of exasperation on his face was too great and just kept fuelling her amusement. "Nothing," she repeated, her shoulders shaking in a fit of giggles and she clapped her hand over her mouth to keep from laughing too loudly.

The elevator opened and Yusei pulled her in there, pressing the ground floor. When her silent laughing didn't seize he began mumbling under his breath, "You can't expect me to do nothing when something like that happens."

Aki tamed her laughing to look up at him in wonder. "When something like _what_ happens?" she pressed, wanting to hear him say it.

Yusei stared at her. What? Wait, what was she laughing about? If it wasn't over him maybe, sort of, kind of being jealous then did he just gave away that he was? Yusei quickly looked away, suddenly feeling kind of self-conscious. "Nothing," he hurried to answer, avoiding her eyes.

His reaction was better than chocolate. Aki's smile grew broader. She could swear that he seemed embarrassed and almost shy, and it was endearing. She had never before seen Yusei like this.

"Yusei...could you possibly be jealous?" Aki teased him as she now moved to stand in front of him and began lovingly running her fingers up and down his chest. She had to bite on her bottom lip to keep her smile from growing any wider.

"No!" Yusei answered, perhaps a little too quickly for it to be believable, while still avoiding looking at her. _Why am I acting like this?_ he thought in bewilderment.

Aki sighed with delight: she got all the confession she wanted from his expression. So she wrapped her arms around his shoulders and pressed into him, nuzzling against his chest. _Just when I thought I couldn't get happier_, Aki thought.

Yusei stared at her and then relaxed, embracing her. He appreciated that this was her only response, that she wasn't pushing further...especially since the truth was probably more than obvious to her. Sometimes a single action was worth a thousand words.

On the way back to Poppo Time, Yusei informed Aki about his deal with Mahdi, his possible duel with Jean tomorrow, and disclosed that he was having some worries about Crow since Mahdi seems to be after him for whatever reason. Aki didn't want him to duel anyone for Mahdi's sake but she wouldn't reveal her objections: instead, she offered Yusei her unconditional support.

It was around midnight when Yusei and Aki finally walked into the kitchen of Poppo Time and greeted its other inhabitants. All their friends looked groggy and gloomy.

"Where did the two of you run off to?" Jack asked as he drummed his fingers impatiently on the table.

"Like you, we were looking for those illegal duelling rings," Aki answered. She stood a little behind Yusei and they weren't holding hands anymore.

"Sure, that's_ exactly_ what the two of you were doing," Crow snorted.

Yusei shot a look at Crow. "We _were_ and we found one," he affirmed.

Crow looked up at Yusei with a startled look on his face.

"...Did you guys actually?" Carly asked with surprise.

"Yes, did you? Because _we_ had wasted all evening looking for them and we found nothing!" Bruno added.

"We did," Aki smiled.

Everybody was silent for a little while after Yusei and Aki finished recounting their experience with FDA. They told them about the immense organization of the whole thing, all the duellists, the place, the security, Mahdi and the mysterious owner of the Association, Yusei's upcoming duel with Jean, as well as the people listed as members.

The first person to speak up was Rua.

"Why am I or Ruka not invited to be in it?" he complained.

"Also me, why am I not invited?" Bruno joined in.

"...You guys _want _to be in it?" Aki asked in disbelief. Did the fact that the place might be run by Set pass their ears?

"Why not? Yliaster and the whole Arc Cradle business were technically behind the WRPG and we still had fun in the actual tournament. Besides, I want to be there to support Yusei in his battle with Jean," Rua responded.

"Until we figure out what Mahdi's deal is I might get to Riding Duel somebody other than you people. That's good enough for me," Jack decided to share.

"Am I going to be able to get in? Being a reporter and all...This is such a great scoop!" Carly mumbled thoughtfully to herself.

"They have an age limit to keep Riding Duels organized, I presume," Yusei answered to Rua and then turned to Bruno, "And they probably haven't figured out that you're Dark Glass."

"Oh yeah...I kind of kept that a secret, didn't I?" Bruno laughed.

"If Rua and Ruka are not in it then this isn't about the Signers," Crow suddenly made a quiet observation.

Silence fell and everybody stared at Crow, realizing that he was right. If this wasn't about the Signers then what was this about?

"Crow, what do you remember about your duel with Mahdi?" Yusei asked him, "Did he say anything to you? Did he indicate why he came after you or why all these things were happening? Did he have some kind of grudge against you?"

Crow avoided his eyes as he shook his head. "Sorry, Yusei, but I can't remember," Crow said sadly, "I can't seem to remember anything from the time I left the coffee shop to waking up in the hospital. That lightning really got me, huh?"

Yusei nodded, appreciating any input, even if it created more questions than answered them.

"Why are you duelling Jean anyway, Yusei? Is there any significance or are you trying to have fun?" Ruka questioned, curiously.

Yusei smiled at her. "I'm duelling Jean to get to Mahdi. He won't duel me unless," he explained.

Aki, who was absently watching Crow all this time, suddenly noticed significant worry register on Crow's face in response to Yusei's explanation. Her eyes widened. For a second it donned on her that Crow might be lying about the whole Mahdi thing. But why? She continued staring at him with shock until Crow noticed that she was ogling him. He quickly wiped the worry off his face and smiled at her. Aki instantly looked away pretending like she didn't see anything.

"Any other questions?" Yusei asked the group.

Everyone shook their heads while Jack stifled a yawn, mumbling, "It's going to be a long day tomorrow. I'm going to sleep."

"That's a good idea," Crow agreed, getting up, and Bruno, Rua and Ruka followed his example.

"Okay, see you all in the morning," Carly nodded and went up to hers and Jack's room. Yusei and Aki departed as well.

Or, rather, as everybody else disappeared in their quarters, Yusei and Aki stopped in the hallway between his and hers room.

Aki shuffled her feet nervously. "Good night?" she guessed, holding her breath.

"Only if you want it to be," Yusei said quietly, opening the door to his room.

Aki's eyes darkened with desire and she neared him, grabbing his hand, and pulling him inside of his room. As the door behind them closed, they engulfed each other in passionate kisses, their hands pulling and tugging at each other's clothes.

"I don't think we'll be doing much sleeping tonight," Aki whispered breathlessly when Yusei broke the kiss to do away with the remainders of her clothing.

"And I never intended to," Yusei answered.

* * *

_So we're getting closer to one of the climaxes of the story. Instead of creating a separate sequel I decided to split this story into two unofficial parts – so part 2 is coming up and it will be a bit different in formatting and some things from how the story is now. But yeah, there is still quite a few long chapters to go until then ^.^_

_I was also thinking of skipping Yusei and Jean duel next chapter because, frankly, I don't find this duel that important to the story; it's more about the implication of it anyway. So if I end up skipping it altogether or just implying to it, I hope that Chapter 16 will take less time to write. I guess I'll see._

_So for next chapter: Will Yusei win against Jean? Will Mahdi agree to duel him if he wins? Will we find out if Crow is hiding something (if anything)? Will Yusei get jealous again? Will more sex happen? And will Carly be able to make it into FDA (lol)?_

_Stay tuned and you (might) find out!_


	17. Chapter 16: A fracture in Utopia

_Author's Note:_

_This is Chapter 16 of "The Kingdom [be]Comes"!_

_Lots of things happening here: feelings and thoughts, a Riding Duel (very shortened), some plot exposition, some comedy, some conflict and angst, and some romance (not graphic)…_

_I hope you like this chapter!_

_Once again, I'd like to thank all of you who reviewed or favoured this story or me. You guys are great :) _

_Thank you for reading!_

_**NineInchNailed.**_

* * *

_"__**Only a life lived for others is a life worth living."**_

_~Albert Einstein._

* * *

"We'll be right back," Carly announced loudly to the guys and, grabbing Aki's hands, she pulled her into the adjacent room. Aki didn't even have a chance to say anything.

"They're probably deciding on what to wear," Crow mumbled with annoyance when the two girls disappeared, "We'll be waiting for them for another hour!"

"When is your duel, Yusei?" Jack questioned, ignoring Crow's ranting.

"Five p.m. We've still got some time," Yusei assured him.

Carly slammed the door after herself and Aki and twirled around to face her friend. "So?" Carly squealed excitedly, "When were you planning to tell me?"

Aki stared at the brunette in confusion. "Tell you what?" she asked innocently.

Carly was jumping up and down in excitement at this point, completely unfazed by Aki's puzzlement. "About you and Yusei, of course!" she replied.

Aki's eyes widened. "What? You _know_? How?" she asked.

"Of course I know! _Everybody_ knows! Besides the fact that the two of you are missing for hours in _his_ room, I see how you guys look at each other now...and it's kind of a dead giveaway," Carly explained with a bright smile.

Aki lowered her eyes, feeling slightly self-conscious, but still couldn't help a timid smile from appearing on her lips. "Yes...all of that is true..." she admitted, her face flushing.

Carly squealed even louder at Aki's confirmation. "OH MY GOD I KNEW IT! This is so great, Aki! But now you have to tell me everything. EVERYTHING! How was it? How was it? Was it good? Did you do it again and how is it now? Please tell me everything and don't spare me any details! Please!" Carly screamed.

Aki blushed even harder and clasped her hand over her friend's mouth to silence further outbursts. "Shhhhhh! They'll hear you!" she hissed at her.

The guys outside turned their heads when they heard some muffled screaming coming from the room where Aki and Carly were.

Crow chuckled. "Whatever they're doing in there...it sounds hot," he pointed out.

"Maybe they're just discussing something exciting, who knows," Bruno suggested.

"True...they must have some new juicy gossip to discuss," Crow nodded and stared at Yusei.

Yusei stared back at Crow. "What?"

"Oh my god," Aki mumbled, pressing her hands against her burning cheeks. How could she possibly tell Carly about something so...intimate and _graphic_?

"Please? I promise I won't tell anyone! At least tell me the basics!" Carly begged.

"Okay, fine," Aki surrendered. She paused for a second, trying to think of where to start. "Um...okay, um...so the first time happened two days ago..." she finally mumbled. _And then the other six times followed including the one this morning_, she suddenly thought in embarrassment. How could they possibly have done so much in just two days? She never thought that could be possible…but obviously she's been proven wrong.

"Eeeeee! And how was it?" Carly pressed excitedly, orienting her back to her first time.

"Um...uh..." Aki just really didn't know what to say or how to say it. Having detailed sex conversations just was not something she had done often. She didn't even have _the_ conversation with her own parents and had to pick up on everything by herself from books and movies. And it wasn't until Carly that she had even started discussing sex. She always did all the listening too while Carly would share some general stuff as well as some of her escapades with Jack. "It...hurt a lot and was very...uh...awkward...but then..." Aki finally managed and hid her face behind her hands, feeling like the dirtiest things were coming out of her mouth.

"Then what? It got _good_?" Carly giggled.

Aki nodded, unable to hide her silly smile as she recalled the heated and amazing events of her first night. "And um...while we were busy I-uh...I almost said I loved him," she added, having suddenly recalled a particular occasion from that night and decided that she could share the romantic aspect of it. But, having just said it, she only now realized how silly it sounded and felt embarrassed. She now actually felt glad that she never finished saying it to Yusei during. It might have killed everything.

"Oh Aki!" Carly exclaimed and leaned down to give her a hug, "That's so cute. But it's okay...that's just called an orgasm. It's all kind of overwhelming when that happens."

"No!" Aki exclaimed defensively and Carly glared at her in surprise. "I mean...yes, _that_ happened," Aki hurried to explain, her tomato red blush now permanent on her face, "But no, I wasn't just saying it because of _that_. I-I...I really do, Carly. I love him. I always have."

Outside, Crow began chuckling. "I'm really happy for you, Yusei," he said, "_Finally_, eh man? Congratulations!"

Yusei sighed.

"And how's it going? Eh? Everything great? Having fun?" Crow continued bothering him with and began elbowing him.

Yusei glared at him. He wasn't going to brag about anything, it wasn't anybody else's business really. And he especially wasn't going to discuss sex.

"Crow, leave him be," Jack sighed.

"Never! This is so fun – just look at _him_, he's so happy and so in love!" Crow exclaimed.

At that comment Yusei flinched and suddenly felt like his face was set on fire.

Unfortunately that only encouraged his orange-haired friend even more.

"Look, he's blushing! Aww, that's so cute," Crow laughed and now reached over and pinched Yusei's his cheek, beginning to sing, "Yusei loves Aki, Yusei looooooooves Aki, he loooooooves her, he will marry her, he will f-….wait, you guys did that first, haha. Okay, then Yusei loooooves Aki, he fuuuuuuuuu-"

"Crow, cut that out!" Yusei snapped, smacking Crow's hand away, while, regardless of how much he willed it not to, his face burnt even hotter as a result of childish taunting.

At this point, even though he was originally on Yusei's side, a mocking grin graced Jack's proud features. "Is Crow right, are you? How ridiculous," he mused.

"No, I…I don't know," Yusei muttered, completely flustered with all the teasing and being put on the spot like this. Why was this up for discussion anyway?

"How could you not know?" Crow laughed.

"How do you know?" Carly asked Aki in the next room.

"I…I just _know_. It's not something you could possibly put into words. I just…I just feel so much for him and…I always want to be with him, and I know that I always will. And nobody else could suffice but him," Aki answered sheepishly.

"Oh, Aki," Carly breathed, smiling brightly with delight.

"I…I just _don't_ know," Yusei repeated. Well, he knew _some _things. Like, for one, he _knew_ that he liked Aki. He _knew_ that he liked everything about her and he always did. He _knew_ that he wanted to be with her, that he wanted her to be his and only his. He _knew_ that he wanted to be there to protect her, to take care of her if she's ever unwell…And he _knew_ that he would do anything and everything for her… So...what did all those things mean then? It couldn't be just a simple crush, right? Is there some strange step in-between a crush and love? Or was he just stubborn and confused because if all _that_ wasn't love…then what was?

Crow rolled his eyes at Yusei's pause when, all of a sudden, Bruno began reciting in a monotone and robotic voice. "Love is the human emotion of strong affection and personal attachment and is often the source of creative art and literature. Leading experts divide the experience of love into three partly overlapping stages: lust, attraction, and attachment," he said, his computer-like eyes blank as he stared forward. It was as if he was reading from the documents in front of him. "Physiologically, it involves the increased release of chemicals such as testosterone and estrogen and exterior responses such as heavy breathing, perspiration, flushed skin and sexual arousal," Bruno concluded.

Yusei, Crow and Jack all stared at Bruno, completely dumbfounded.

"Okay, Bruno? It really creeps me out when you do that," Crow finally admitted.

Bruno looked very sad. "I'm sorry," he said apologetically, looking down, "I was just trying to help. I thought that giving a definition of the phenomenon of love could help Yusei make up his mind by comparing his experience to that of scientific evidence."

"Yeah, that part about heavy breathing, sweating and sexual arousal really paints a picture," Jack snickered, "Apparently science considers masturbating as equivalent to being in love."

Crow laughed loudly at Jack's comment.

"Should I recite some famous love poems then? Would an artistic description be more helpful?" Bruno attempted.

"Don't worry about it, Bruno," Yusei said gently, appreciating the effort no matter how random, unwanted and hilarious it was, "Thank you."

Bruno smiled at him with gratitude.

"Okay, Yusei, I'll make it easy for you: you _know_ you're in love if, after having sex with a hot girl the first couple of times, you can actually imagine having sex with that same girl two years from now. There. Nice and simple," Crow said decidedly and grinned, looking very pleased with himself as if he had just provided the most helpful of inputs.

_Crow, always so romantic_, Yusei thought involuntarily. "I really don't care to hear about this," he finally stated his opinion. Seriously, when did he, at any point, ask for any advice from them?

"If anything, Crow, you just described a case of convenience and good sex," Jack commented with an entertained smirk.

"At least _I_ offered some useful input. What did you contribute rather than bitch?" Crow rolled his eyes in annoyance at Jack, completely ignoring Yusei's interruption.

"Okay, fine!" Jack snapped and neared Yusei. "Yusei, love is a woman-made concept because they have all these feelings and things and care about romance and cuddly things. But sometimes…_sometimes_ there is a rare and elusive occurrence when it happens to a guy too. It's very rare, Yusei, and it almost never happens. But this is how you can tell if it happened to you: it's when she asks you for your Ramen noodles and you don't mind sharing."

"Jack, I know you're blonde and whatnot, but you can be _so_ stupid sometimes," Crow said, barely keeping a straight face after that explanation, "The world doesn't revolve around your stupid noodles! And that's not what being in love is like for most people!"

"What matters is whatever I sign meaning to. So if that's what constitutes love for me then that's all that matters!" Jack shouted defensively.

Yusei watched the interaction between his two best friends in silence, at that point not knowing or even caring how any of what they said applied to him. But, at the very least, they made it quite hilarious.

"How do I love thee? Let me count the ways: I love thee to the depth and breadth and height…" Bruno began reading the poem in monotone voice.

"Carly, do you think that Yusei and I could work out?" Aki asked her friend in the adjacent room.

Carly nodded. "Definitely! I mean yeah, I had my doubts but after seeing the two of you for real now…I really think so," Carly said, still smiling happily.

Aki breathed in relief. She remembered how much Carly's worried reaction to Yusei's kiss hurt her, and was comforted to receive her support. "…And um…do you think that Yusei…uh…feels the same way about me as I feel about him? After all, what if…what if he doesn't even believe in love?" Aki asked shyly and worriedly.

"I think he does," Carly reassured her, "Yusei's a bit hard to read but I'm certain that he feels the same. Guys can't be _that_ complicated."

Aki nodded dumbly, unable to hide her wide smile.

By the time she and Carly walked out of their secret conference they saw Yusei standing at the wall and looking bored, Bruno reciting a sonnet, and Jack and Crow snarling at each other in-between of occasional punching.

"You guys really know how to spend time together," Carly sighed and clung to Jack's arm, pulling him away from Crow.

"What? He started it!" Jack exclaimed, pointing at Crow.

"Pfft, no! If anything it was Yusei who started it!" Crow answered, quickly shifting the blame.

Yusei tensed up and glanced at Crow with anger.

"Regarding what?" Aki asked inquisitively as she closured Yusei and smiled dreamily at him.

Yusei continued eyeing Crow with a deadly look in his eyes. He was almost daring Crow to go there. Because if Crow goes there…if he tells Aki what they were talking about…then heads will roll.

Crow stared back at Yusei and a mischievous smile coloured his features. "My memory's been kind of hazy recently. But a big part of it was about you, actually," Crow said, winking at Aki.

"Is that so?" Aki stared at Yusei excitedly.

The all familiar burning sensation returned to Yusei's face no matter how hard he tried to suppress it. He really hated Crow sometimes.

"Yup! Maybe Yusei could fill you in on that later," Crow grinned, unbothered by the look Yusei as giving him.

"It's nothing, Aki," Yusei hurried to say and took deep breaths which quickly helped calm and conceal his state of embarrassment. "Don't worry about it, it's nothing," he repeated and then quickly added, "Let's get going now," before Crow could open his mouth to refute.

"Alright," Aki shrugged, figuring that if it was something important then Yusei would tell her about it eventually.

They all began making their way out of Poppo Time except for Bruno who had to stay behind, being an unintentional babysitter for Rua and Ruka. Carly insisted to go with the four Signers despite not being listed for FDA. "I'm a reporter: I can get into anything, regardless of how exclusive," Carly convinced them.

It was close to 4:45 when the five of them made it to the abandoned-looking stadium and, after telling the password, they were allowed in. Crow, Carly and Jack took a few seconds to stop and gape once they entered into the stadium, and Carly disappeared right before they were about to be questioned by the bouncer after assuring them that she'd find some kind of a side entrance.

Yusei, Aki, Crow and Jack finally made it through without a problem and were soon waiting by the sidelines of the upper level Riding Duel arena for Team Unicorn's Jean.

"This place is awesome..." Crow mumbled in amazement, looking around.

Jack came back after checking his FDA duelling profile and he had a smug grin on his face. It looked like being listed as one of the highest rated duellists did wonders for his ego.

"I just accepted five out of forty challenges to a Riding Duel. A lot of people want to see if they can take on Jack Atlas' power, as you can see," Jack told them proudly.

"I take it you're planning to come here quite frequently," Yusei remarked.

"Of course. Until we get to the bottom of this I say I get to have some fun. There hasn't been anything bad going on since the duelling prohibition anyway," Jack answered.

"Yeah, why not?" Crow shrugged, agreeing with him.

Yusei shook his head, looking away.

Aki noticed Yusei's unease with his friends' trouble-free attitudes and she shared it. Although, at the same time, she kind of sympathized with Crow and Jack and their duel starvation.

Crow patted Yusei's shoulder, "Cheer up, dude. Nothing bad will come of it."

Yusei didn't have time to respond because they suddenly heard an unfamiliar voice call out his name and all of them spun around to face Jean. His team-mates, Andore and Breo, stood on either side of him.

"Jean," Yusei smiled and reached out to shake his hand, "Long time no see. Thank you for accepting this duel."

"The pleasure is all mine, of course," Jean said politely, "It's time we've got our rematch."

"Yes," Yusei nodded and when Jean departed to his D-Wheel, he followed suit by wheeling his own D-Wheel into the arena.

Aki watched him, chewing on her bottom lip in anxiety, and ran after him.

"What's going on, Aki?" Yusei asked with a frown as he mounted his D-Wheel. The duel was about to start.

"You're not using that card this duel, right?" she asked him worriedly and dropped her voice, leaning closer so only he could hear her in case somebody was eavesdropping. "The Sky Dragon of Osiris, that is?" she clarified.

"No," Yusei said, fastening his helmet, "Jean's strategy does not call for it."

Aki nodded but still looked apprehensive and Yusei noticed it.

"Hey," he said gently and reached out to hold her hand, "Don't worry, everything will be fine. This duel will go alright."

"This duel is not what worries me, Yusei," Aki said and gravely pointed at the announcer's box above the duelling arena, feeling a shudder pass through her. Yusei followed her gesture and saw then that Mahdi was watching them with a blank look on his face.

"Good. He holds to his promise," Yusei said coldly.

Aki wished that Yusei didn't have to duel Mahdi. After that guy almost killed Crow and his supposed relation to all the deaths happening in this city, Aki wanted nothing more for him than to drop dead, no matter how heinous and unethical that thinking might have been. But she could no longer waste any more of Yusei's time and so, after wishing him the best of luck and summoning one of his stunning butterflies-in-the-stomach-causing smiles, Aki ran to stand with Crow and Jack at the sidelines.

"Riding Duel Acceleration," Yusei and Jean announced in unison after Speed World 2 activated, and sped off, racing to take the first turn. Yusei was the one to achieve this task.

"Ore no turn," he announced and drew a card.

[Yusei Fudo]

[**Beginning of Turn One**: 0 Monsters; 0 Cards on Field; 6 Cards in hand; LP4000]

|[Yusei's Speed Counters: 0]|

|[Jean's Speed Counters: 0]|

"I summon Shield Warrior in Defence mode," Yusei said and a Level 3 monster in appearance of a knight, holding a large shield, showed up. Its attack was 800 points and defence was 1600 points.

"I also place two cards face down and end my turn," he concluded as two hidden cards appeared.

Aki tried hard to concentrate on the duel but was unable to keep herself from staring at Mahdi instead. She found it fascinating how she could loathe somebody so much without exchanging more than a few words with them. It was almost like some kind of morbid curiosity too, it seemed, because even though he was a monster she couldn't help but admit that he certainly wasn't horrible-looking. He was tall, as tall as Jack, but while Jack was perfectly chiselled and built Mahdi was more on a scrawny side. His face was that of perfect symmetry, however, and his high cheekbones and full lips painted him as classically handsome. But those pitch-black eyes of his just sent her shivering in disgust: there was something so intrinsically awful behind them, she could feel it but she couldn't know for certain. Thankfully, Mahdi didn't notice her observing him as it appeared that his whole attention was on Yusei's duel.

"The bastard looks high and mighty up there, doesn't he?" she heard Crow's voice beside her and for a moment looked away from the threat to look at her friend. Crow apparently made notice of Mahdi as well.

"I'm tempted to just get up there and beat the living crap out of him," Crow growled, clenching his fists.

"I wish that could solve everything," Aki smiled sadly.

"Perhaps not but it will definitely be satisfying. If this guy is in any way connected to those sacrificial duels then he deserves _more _than just beating," Crow said.

_Agreed_, Aki thought. She resumed her absent staring at Mahdi and by the time she turned her attention back to Yusei's duel, Jean had declared his second turn.

[Jean]

[**Beginning of Turn Two**: Trident Warrior (Lvl.4) ATK1800/DEF1200 in Attack mode; 2 Cards on Field; 2 Cards in hand; LP3800]

|[Yusei's Speed Counters: 2]|

|[Jean's Speed Counters: 3]|

"I Summon Delta Fly in Attack mode," Jean said and a dragon-like Level 3 tuner-monster appeared, its attack at 1500 points and its defence points at 900. "Delta Fly special effect activates," Jean smirked and gestured at his Trident Warrior, "Once per turn I can select another monster on my field and increase its level by one. So Trident Warrior is at Level 5 now."

"Is he going for a Synchro Summon already?" Jack pondered.

"Oh god, not Lightning Tricorn," Crow groaned, "That was such a pain in the ass during the WRPG's."

"Now I tune my Level 3 Delta Fly to my Level 5 Trident Warrior to Synchro Summon Lightning Tricorn!" Jean announced and began chanting, "Galloping in the heavens like thunder, going through the pitch-black sky, this lightning will strike the Earth and incinerate it! Synchro Summon! Shine, Lightning Tricorn!"

_So far this is going according to plan_, Yusei thought as he watched Jean's ace monster, a golden unicorn, make an appearance on the field.

"And now, Lightning Tricorn, attack his Bolt Hedgehog!" Jean ordered and his monster charged into battle.

Yusei wasn't going to let this go through, especially not when his Bolt Hedgehog was forcefully switched to Attack mode last turn. And not when he was planning to Synchro summon next turn. "I activate my trap, Forceful Stop – by sending Bolt Hedgehog to the Graveyard and I can end the Battle Phase this turn," he said and discarded his monster into the Graveyard, watching as Lightning Tricorn returned to Jean's side of the field.

"You still have an open field," Jean chuckled at Yusei's situation but then shrugged, "But alright, better for me. I place one more card face down and end my turn," he finished.

[Jean]

[**End of Turn Two**: Lightning Tricorn (Lvl.8) ATK2800/DEF2000 in Attack mode; 3 Cards on Field; 1 Cards in hand; LP3800]

|[Yusei's Speed Counters: 2]|

|[Jean's Speed Counters: 3]|

"Yusei better have a plan," Crow grumbled.

"Why wouldn't he?" Aki asked calmly.

"My turn," Yusei declared and drew a card.

[Yusei Fudo]

[**Beginning of Turn Three**: 0 Monsters; 2 Cards on Field; 3 Cards in hand; LP2800]

|[Yusei's Speed Counters: 3]|

|[Jean's Speed Counters: 4]|

Yusei looked at Junk Synchron he just drew and it was perfect.

"I Summon Junk Synchron in Attack mode," he proclaimed and his trustworthy Level 3 tuner-monster, its appearance that of a small yellow robot, showed up on his side of the field. Its attack points were at 1300 points and defence at 500.

"When Junk Synchron is successfully Summoned, I can Special Summon a Level 2 or lower monster from my Graveyard. I choose Speed Warrior," Yusei said and watched as a second monster, this one in a form of a lean android, appeared. Its stats showed its Level as 2 and its attack at 900 and defence at 300.

"Additionally," Yusei went on, "When there is a tuner-monster on my field, I can Special Summon Bolt Hedgehog from my Graveyard. Come back, Bolt Hedgehog," and a Level 2 hamster-like monster returned, its attack and defence points both at 800.

"Oh god," Crow muttered almost inaudibly and Aki tore away from Yusei's duel to gaze at him in confusion. She saw him worried and practically gnawing at his nails as he watched the duel at hand. "Three monsters..." he whispered.

"Crow...what's going on?" she asked him slowly.

Crow winced, as if snapping out of his daze, and quickly wiped off the worry from his face. "Nothing," he said, faking a smile at her.

Aki had just about enough of his mysterious demeanour. She might have let it go yesterday but she wasn't going to do it today. So she just grabbed Crow's arm and dragged him out into the crowd despite his protesting and Jack's curious watching.

"Now I tune my Level 3 Junk Synchron to my Level 2 Speed Warrior and to my Level 2 Bolt Hedgehog to Synchro Summon Junk Archer!" Yusei carried on, his whole attention on the duel, and so he was completely oblivious that two of his friends had just abandoned him, "Clustering roars, turn into an echoing arrow which tears through the sky! Become the path its light shines upon! Synchro Summon! Show yourself, Junk Archer!

Meanwhile, Aki pulled Crow aside into the quieter corner of the floor – a difficult task considering the whole floor was packed with cheering spectators on Yusei's duel – and faced him with an inquiring look in her eyes.

Crow looked distracted as he instead stared up at the duel summary on the TV monitor above them and sighed with relief. "Junk Archer, a good choice," he mumbled, completely in his own world.

"Crow, seriously? What's going on?" Aki asked him impatiently.

"Oh," he looked back at her and gave her one of his silly signature grins, rubbing the back of his head, "It's nothing. I was just wondering about what kind of a monster Yusei was going to summon."

"Crow, you're kind of an open book. It's really easy to tell when you're lying," Aki said, pursing her lips into a thin line.

Crow sighed and looked away, contemplating. Aki saw how serious and concerned he looked again and she knew that this was definitely something important.

"I was just kind of worried that he'd summon that Egyptian God Card instead. Three monsters tribute and all," Crow finally said.

Aki tensed. Of course she didn't want Yusei summoning that monster for her own reasons – him getting hurt the times he did it, the mysteriousness of the card, the monster's retaliation against Crow – but what was Crow's reason? He was definitely not saying something.

"Crow...just tell me what's going on."

Crow let out another sigh, looking very apprehensive and uncertain. In the end he conceded. "Alright...but Aki, you must promise me not to get mad at me until I'm done explaining myself. Is that alright?" he asked.

"Okay," Aki promised, nodding stiffly.

Crow drew in a deep breath. "So I-uh...I kind of lied about not remembering anything about my duel with Mahdi. I actually remember everything," he started and smiled awkwardly.

Aki stared. "Crow!" she exclaimed with disbelief, "Are you serious? Why would you do that?"

"Okay, you promised not to get mad! Just listen," Crow pleaded and grabbed her shoulders for emphasis, "What happened that night was that I was coming from a coffee shop and Mahdi was waiting for me by my D-Wheel. When I asked him who he was and what he wanted with me he said that he looking for whoever it is that has the Sky Dragon of Osiris."

Aki tensed in shock. "Are you saying...that Mahdi is looking for the owner of Sky Dragon? But...why?" she whispered and then, overtaken with abrupt anger and concern, she shouted, "AND YOU HAVEN'T TOLD US ABOUT THIS RIGHT AWAY? If he's looking for the owner of Sky Dragon then Yusei just walked into his trap! He might use the Dragon when duelling against him, don't you understand? WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU?"

"I know, I know! Please don't yell!" Crow hurried to say, "Just listen to me first! So I have no idea why he wants the Sky Dragon. But he said that he was _given_ a mission to find out who summoned it. So he must be acting on behalf of somebody else. He also called the Sky Dragon a servant of an Egyptian God and said that it took flight for the first time in twenty or so years."

Aki had to keep herself from strangling Crow but at the same time his words made her ponder. "Twenty or so years is consistent with the timeline Mokuba painted regarding Mutou Yugi. And it was his card after all," she responded, thoughtfully.

"Yeah, he was definitely referring to Yugi," Crow nodded, "But, in addition to all that, Mahdi said that, with Sky Dragon's abrupt presence, he was also wondering if some Great Pharaoh had come back to life to restore some Great Balance."

"...And what does that mean?" Aki asked.

"No idea," Crow shrugged, "The whole pharaoh thing probably refers to the spirit of that ancient Egyptian pharaoh that lived with Mutou Yugi. I don't remember his name. But how does that make the Sky Dragon of Osiris the "Servant of an Egyptian God"? What Egyptian God? Wasn't it the servant of Mutou Yugi and his spirit sidekick? Or is that just a nonsensical take on the Sky Dragon's name? Also, how does that relate to that Great Balance thing?"

Aki had to take a deep breath to calm herself before she finally spoke up. "Crow. Crow. Are you listening to me now? Okay," she shrugged off his hands off her and was the one to grab his shoulders now, "These are the kinds of questions we should have been thinking about since you've duelled Mahdi! We might have figured it out by now and we wouldn't be in this mess to begin with! You're the most irresponsible, egotistical, s-"

"I know, I know!" Crow interrupted her, "But you promised that you wouldn't get mad! Just listen to the rest before I explain my reasons, please? Okay, so then Mahdi went on about the sacrificial duels, saying that if people are given any means to achieve the end that they will go for it. So that kind of explains why so many people bought the whole blood duels pretence. He also went on to say that the city is destined to destroy itself and how Set is making the whole thing right and how he will become the new God of everything."

"Really, Crow, that's just great," Aki mumbled in shock, simply unable to believe that he kept all this critical information hidden from them.

"So since he was basically looking for Yusei and I would never give out my best friend," Crow went on, ignoring her rumbling, "I challenged him to a duel. He said he'd only duel somebody with the Sky Dragon and so I presented the card to him – since I had stolen it from Yusei that day – and he accepted the duel. He said that it was an honour to duel the Chosen One. And then when the Sky Dragon of Osiris wouldn't obey me, Mahdi said that it was refusing me because it had found a master but that master wasn't me. And then he went on this maniacal rant about how I couldn't be the Chosen One and how I don't have the power to control a God. And that's all that happened during my encounter," he concluded.

Aki was glaring at him in silence. _Seriously, Crow, what the hell? What's wrong with you_, she was thinking, _How could you possibly not tell us any of that? _

"So I've been doing some thinking and the conclusion I came to is that Yusei is somehow the Chosen One…for something, I don't know. And that the Sky Dragon of Osiris had chosen him as its master – which explains the dragon's mark on his arm – and that he's the only one that has the power to control it now – which also explains why it went all ballistic on me. Of course it doesn't explain why it hurts him to summon it but we'll figure out things a few steps at a time," Crow decided to share some of his thoughts with her.

Aki couldn't even think about anything he told her. How could she? It was all too much, too complicated and too mystical to figure out on the spot. And this was something that _all of them_ should have been thinking about right after it happened. Aki was only capable of saying one thing and it was "Crow…why did you hide all this?"

Crow sighed. "Because I don't want Yusei to fight Mahdi," he answered.

"How chivalrous, Crow," Aki said, her voice chillingly harsh, "But guess what? I don't want him to fight Mahdi either. It's dangerous. But it _has _to be done so we could find out the answers to ALL OF THE THINGS THAT YOU'VE CONVENIENTLY HIDDEN FROM US."

Crow didn't seem distraught by her argument and maintained his ground, saying, "No, Aki, you don't understand, Aki – Yusei, he's...he's not bulletproof."

Aki suddenly felt very hurt. It felt like he was implying that she neither knew nor cared that Yusei could get wounded in these battles. As if she had some delusional expectations of Yusei and didn't know something _so obvious_ about him. "…Crow, how could you say that to me?" she asked, her voice pained, "I _know_ that. I never said that I wanted him to duel Mahdi. I know it's dangerous but I also know that we need to get to the bottom of this. But how…how could you imply that I _don't care_ that Yusei could get hurt?

Crow apparently caught on to what he had said and he looked guilty for having offended her. "No, Aki, I didn't mean it like that! That's not it at all!" he hurried to say and grabbed her forearms, "It's more like, why does Yusei have do to it? Why should he be the one to take on Mahdi? To take on every big threat? Why does he have to do everything? I mean yeah, is it expected of him? Sure. But is he the one that _has_ to do it? No."

Even though he probably meant well when he said it Aki still felt like she was slapped. It's like he was saying that she had no idea the pressure Yusei could be under and like she was heartless and never considered Yusei's feelings about anything. "Why do you say it like that?" she whispered, "He's burdened, yes. But like with the Signers and the Yliaster, destiny had chosen him to be. And we were always behind him every step of the way. We did anything we could to help him. We never abandoned him on his journey, Crow."

"But don't you see? I mean yeah, it could be his destiny this time as well but it also could be not. Regardless, we must do anything in our power to ease his burden, make it easier for him. He may be the strongest of us, he may be the one who can do anything...but even the strongest of us can break," Crow told her and distractedly looked at his hands holding on to her bare arms. He quickly released his grip on her but, to be fair, AKi didn't notice because she was completely numb. "Have you ever seen Yusei pushed to a breaking point? I have. I saw him _cry_, Aki. But only twice, in nearly sixteen years of my knowing him," he said quietly.

"Twice?" Aki asked, her voice inaudible. But she _had_ witnessed that once: when Crow was in the hospital and Yusei was on a brink of total meltdown. When he revealed to her that he sometimes didn't know if he was capable of doing anything or how he could possibly help people, and how weak and powerless he sometimes felt. It was awful. It made Aki's heart ache in agony remembering it and how she struggled to console him by telling him that he wasn't alone and that he would always have all of his friends behind him. It reflected the pain and the burden he first shared with her before they decided to be together...and how she mistakenly thought that she had been able to ease it off him. So was Crow right? Could everything she had done up to now have not been enough to heal Yusei's pain?

"Yes, twice," Crow nodded, "One was recent and it was during his duel with Rutger Godwin. That bastard drove Yusei to a breaking point. In case you haven't heard about it, Yusei revealed that he had mentally taken on the responsibility for the Zero Reverse. He had decided that every death, every suffering that had happened as a result of that accident, was something that he was responsible for. That it was an awful legacy passed on to him from his father. And that he was the only one who could fix his everything, to ease everyone's suffering. It was bad, Aki. At that point, listening to that horrible darkness in his heart, I wondered how it was that he had managed to wake up every morning and face the day, how he could possibly be as carefree and fun as he is sometimes."

Aki felt a sick void form in the pit of her stomach. "I...I didn't know this," she whispered in shock.

"Yeah, but that's more or less okay now. Jack and I had a talk with him and we reassured him that it wasn't his fault, that he doesn't have to suffer the responsibility for Zero Reverse, and it was fine. But _think _about it. Just think about the process, the state of his mind that caused him to take all that on," Crow said.

Aki looked down, feeling both guilty and disturbed.

"And do you know the first and only other time I've ever seen him cry? It was when he was 8 years old and when he, Jack and I and a couple of other kids were climbing up this huge tree. We climbed up pretty high and the branch Yusei stepped on broke and he fell. It was hilarious so we all laughed like crazy, him included. But then, later in the evening, I accidentally stumbled on him in the basement of the orphanage and found him sitting in the corner and crying. I thought it was funny and couldn't wait to tell others but he asked me not to tell anyone about it. When I asked why, he said this: he told me that Satellite was the place where only the strongest could survive; and that if he was going to change things for the better and to save everyone then he had to be the strongest he could be. Keep in mind that this was a _little kid_ saying this. And it turned out that he had five of his ribs broken in the fall and he was only crying because by night-time he could barely handle the pain. He had to have emergency surgery right away and, mind you, without the luxuries of aesthetic. And he had not shed a tear since, nor broken down until that time with Rutger," Crow finished recalling the story.

Aki resumed staring at the ground, feeling like Crow was yelling all these things at her. It felt almost incomprehensible.

"So do you see what I mean? Why I had told you all that? It's just what Yusei does: he bottles things up and, if he suffers, he'd rather suffer alone and never tell anyone about it because, to him, it's like he'd be unnecessarily burdening everyone. That's just what he's like, completely selfless, living for everyone but _he_ wouldn't have it any other way, don't you see? And that's why all of us must do our best to try and diffuse the responsibility he'd chosen to take on," Crow concluded, finally telling her the innermost layers of his intentions.

"Are we less helpful this time than we could be? Are we letting him down this time?" Aki asked, feeling nearly dead on the inside, and finally looked up to meet Crow's grey eyes.

"I'm only saying that we must help make it easier for him. So, in this case, rather than letting him walk into Mahdi's trap one of us could duel Mahdi instead. Find out what's going on. Get to the bottom of this. And then if it truly _is_ Yusei's destiny to duel Set – whoever or whatever he'd happen to be – then Yusei would eventually do what he has to do. But he will not have to do _everything_ to get to that point. We will help him get there, make it as easier for him as we can," Crow said.

"Okay," Aki nodded rigidly, "What...how were you planning of going about it, Crow?"

"I thought that I would take on Mahdi and find out everything Yusei needs to know. But by myself, my deck, and my trustworthy Black Feather Dragon. So without the Sky Dragon to unnecessarily take me down. I will prepare my deck especially against Mahdi's anti-Synchro card and that energy-sucking monster of his. I can do it. I am capable. I was also going to tell Jack everything and then maybe he and I could do this together," Crow responded.

Aki smiled weakly. She found it darkly amusing how well-thought out and altruistic Crow's plan was. He could be so sweet. He was a true friend and she wasn't because she was fine with feeding Yusei to the lions.

"Is there anything I could do to help?" she asked practically inaudibly. She really wanted to know. She wanted to help. She wanted to do something, anything, to help Yusei because after he had helped _her_ and saved _her_ – from Divine, Arcadia and from herself – she had abandoned _him_.

"Yes. Something very important," Crow nodded, "Yusei can't find out about this, okay? That's why I lied to him, that's why I didn't tell him anything. He won't listen and it'll just further convince him that he has to do the whole thing by himself. He'll do anything to protect his friends, to protect us. But...he will listen to one person and that's _you_, Aki."

"Why me?" she inquired dumbly, her voice faint. Because they were going out now? Because they slept together? Is that what constituted it?

Crow studied her for a long moment before speaking up, gently. "Because he will. Aki...he really has it bad for you, you know? He'll do anything you'd ask of him. _Anything_. It's...it's true."

Aki's gaze found the floor. She...didn't know what she felt.

"Once Yusei sets his mind on something he won't let it go," Crow went on, "But you can change that, Aki. And your task is so much simpler than that, even: rather than telling him everything and making him feel guilty, you just need to keep him away from duelling Mahdi." He distractedly glanced over at the announcer box where Mahdi was. "That's it. Just for a few days. I'll talk to Jack today and we'll figure out what to do. And everything will be fine."

Aki met the ginger's eyes, her gaze calculating and yet still dazed. Well, Crow's suggestion seemed reasonable enough. If she did that then it could definitely be pretty helpful for them. But…couldn't she do more? _Much_ more?

It suddenly occurred to Aki that she knew exactly what to do. She didn't know why she didn't think of it earlier. It was so simple and absurdly stupid, even, to not have thought of it until now.

_She_ would challenge Mahdi. That was it. She would challenge him and he would accept because he probably wouldn't mind getting back at her for making him lose the duel with her powers. And it will be alright because she could have her powers to protect her if anything should go wrong during a duel.

A slow smile touched her lips. It was a perfect plan. She would alleviate Yusei of his burden – just as Crow suggested they do – and she would become a worthy and grateful friend for everything Yusei had done for her. It was only fair. He deserved the best of her, of everyone.

"Okay," Aki said, finally responding to Crow's request. She was satisfied. And she suddenly felt very light, as light as a feather. Very light and very happy. She had found a way to help Yusei, to make him happier, and, after everything Crow had said, to become better herself.

Because she loved Yusei and she would do anything for him. She always would.

Crow sighed in relief, "I'm glad I've spoken to you about this. And that you agree with me. I think that if we all work together on this rather than let Yusei do all the work then it will all happen for the best."

"Yes," Aki smiled brighter. It wasn't right of course – they wouldn't be doing this together, she would be the one to do it, but technically they had come to a unitary consensus. And it was fine. She would do anything in her power to help Yusei. But she wouldn't tell Crow anything about it, no, not until it's over.

Crow didn't notice anything out of the ordinary with Aki's expressions or thought process. Instead he looked up at the TV monitor above them and smiled lightly, "Yusei's duel is almost over now. Let's hurry back to catch his big finale."

Aki nodded and hurried after Crow back to the duelling arena.

"Where did the two of you disappear to for an hour? You missed the whole thing," Jack told to them with discontent when they got there.

"Yeah, you missed Yusei's big comeback after Jean had been in the lead for the majority of the time," Carly added. Apparently she had somehow managed to make it inside and, judging by the dust on her clothing and a gray smudge on her face, she had probably used a ventilation vent of some sort.

"Awesome!" Crow grinned excitedly, "Go Yusei! KICK HIS ASS!"

"You can do it!" Aki cheered.

Meanwhile, Yusei declared his 11th turn. This was a very long and draining duel and yet, nonetheless, enjoyable. And looking at the Speed Spell he just drew he knew that this was going to be his last turn.

[Yusei Fudo]

[**Beginning of Turn Eleven**: Nitro Warrior (Lvl.7) ATK2800/DEF1800 in Attack mode; 2 Cards on Field; 2 Cards in hand; LP700]

|[Yusei's Speed Counters: 7]|

|[Jean's Speed Counters: 10]|

"I play a Speed Spell, Speed Energy – when I have six or more Speed Counters I can give Nitro Warrior extra 200 attack points for each Speed Counter I have. So that's extra 1400 Attack points," Yusei said and Nitro Warrior roared, its attack power at the whopping 4200 now.

Jean seemed completely unfazed but Yusei expected that reaction. Of course Jean had some traps up his sleeve but he was prepared for that.

"And now, Nitro Warrior, attack his Lightning Tricorn!" Yusei ordered and watched as his monster with 4200 attack points destroyed Jean's Lightning Tricorn with its inferior 2800 points. Since Lightning Tricorn was in Attack mode, Jean was to receive 1400 damage to his 1600 Life Points.

"Yeah, not so fast – I activate my Trap card, Return Damage," Jean smirked and activated his face-down card, "When my opponent inflicts battle damage to me, that damage is negated and inflicted on my opponent instead. Also, when Lightning Tricorn is destroyed, I can Special Summon Thunder Unicorn from my Graveyard." Thunder Unicorn appeared on his field, preventing his field from being open for any direct attacks.

At the sidelines, Carly gasped in distress at the activation of Jean's trap. "But that would mean that Yusei will lose!" she exclaimed, while Crow held his breath, Jack narrowed his eyes thoughtfully, and Aki just stood there with a blank expression on her face.

"Then I activate a Counter Trap card, Shining Silver Force," Yusei intervened, "I can negate damage from your trap card and, as a result, destroy all Magic and Trap cards on your side of the field, Jean!"

"Yes!" Crow, Aki and Carly cheered.

"Good but not good enough, Yusei!" Jean shouted and activated another face down card, "I activate Counter Counter – I can negate activation of a Counter Trap card and destroy it. So your 1400 points of damage goes back to you!"

"Oh god," Carly gasped, "Does it mean it's over for Yusei now?"

"Then I activate my last Trap card, Joint Future," Yusei declared and flipped up his last face down card, "By sending one card from my hand to the Graveyard I can negate the activation of my opponent's Trap card. So your Counter Counter is flipped face down."

Jean growled as the 1400 points of damage were about to affect his 1600 Life Points and he could do nothing to stop it.

"By the way," Yusei smiled lightly, "If Nitro Warrior is on the field when I activate a Speed Spell, its attack increases by additional 1000 points but only during the Battle Damage calculation phase. I played Speed Energy at the beginning of my turn so the damage you receive from Nitro Warrior is not 1400 but actually _2400_ points of damage."

"Always one step ahead, Yusei, as always," Jean smiled in defeat as his Life Points plunged down to zero and the duel was finally over.

[**Winner**: Yusei Fudo]

The stadium erupted in cheering and applauding.

Carly and Crow both almost collapsed from relief.

Jack just shrugged like he knew that this duel will work out exactly the way it did all along.

And Aki smiled brightly, waving at her lover.

Yusei stopped next to Jean and dismounted his D-Wheel, walking up to his opponent. "Thank you for the duel, Jean," Yusei said and reached out to shake his hand.

Jean nodded. "It was great. I can't wait for a rematch, Yusei," he said with a smile and departed the arena with his friends Andore and Breo, while Jack, Carly, Crow and Aki ran up to congratulate Yusei.

"Way to go man, that was awesome," Crow said, punching his shoulder.

"Took you forever," Jack mocked him.

"What a rollercoaster!" Carly exclaimed.

"Yusei..." Aki whispered and jumped to hug him.

Yusei smiled at her, suddenly feeling nearly light-headed. It was such a delightful feeling to have somebody who would be willing to greet him like this. He couldn't believe he had waited so long until he could have this. _This_.

Crow, Jack and Carly, meanwhile, looked very weirded out by Aki's random display of affection. It was probably because it was strange for them to witness it happening right in front of their eyes especially for Jack, it seemed, who looked downright disgusted. And when Yusei was about to return a hug Jack cleared his throat and gestured up towards the announcer's box, summoning everyone's attention to it. "Looks like your main audience is also happy with the outcome," he said.

Aki released him and Yusei turned around, seeing that Mahdi was still standing in the observatory of the control room but that now he had a satisfied smirk on his face. Their eyes met and Mahdi slowly gestured at him to come up.

"Okay, let's all go say hi," Crow mumbled with unease.

Yusei stared at Crow, then at Aki, and then decidedly shook his head. "No. If anyone wants to come with me it could only be Jack," he said.

Aki glared at him in protest while Crow looked unsurprised and Carly looked confused.

"Why can't I come?" Carly complained.

"Because of that big camera in your hands," Jack pointed out and Carly blushed, hiding it behind her back. "Okay, makes sense..." she mumbled.

Yusei stared back at Aki and as their eyes met, Aki sighed dejectedly, lowering her eyes.

"We'll be right back," Yusei promised and he and Jack disappeared.

"Told you," Crow whispered so that only Aki could hear him, "He'd do anything to keep us out of trouble. Oh man, Yusei...stop being so selfless…" he sighed.

Aki just nodded to his words. It was fine and everything would be fine.

As Yusei and Jack walked towards the control room, Jack decided to share something. "Maybe you shouldn't be leaving Crow and Aki alone. They missed your whole duel because they decided to run off somewhere," he said.

Yusei felt a sudden and inexplicable stab of jealousy and instantly felt strange about it. Crow and Aki? That sounded more ridiculous than anything. Sure Crow had some hots for her but he would never do anything. And Yusei was quite certain that Aki did not feel the same for Crow. So what if two of his friends were spending some time together? He trusted them both unconditionally. "Jack, that's just stupid," he mumbled, brushing off Jack's comment.

"Whatever, just a messenger," Jack sighed with annoyance.

When they finally walked up to the announcer's box, the door snapped open and Mahdi came out. "That was positively mediocre," he greeted Yusei, completely ignoring Jack, "But whatever, you did what I asked you to do. And I always keep my promises. So name the time and the place, Fudo Yusei."

"How about now?" Yusei suggested, actually serious. The sooner this could start the sooner he could get some answers.

Mahdi laughed. "Whoa, hold your horses, kid. I've got a busy schedule so I need to know time in advance."

Yusei found it bizarre that Mahdi called him a kid. Judging by Mahdi's appearance he couldn't have been more than two years older. Still, this conversation was quickly becoming infuriating. "Tomorrow or a day after?" Yusei attempted, controlling his anger. This Mahdi was playing around with him and treating him like a fool and there was only so much of that he was willing to take.

Jack slowly cracked his knuckles.

Mahdi's grin vanished as he acknowledged Jack and began looking slightly apprehensive. Even though they were the same height it was clear that not many people could physically take on the tank that was Jack Atlas. "Day after is fine, Fudo," Mahdi finally uttered, turning to look back at Yusei, "You know where to find me." He then went back into the announcer's box and slammed the door in their faces.

"What a tool," Jack said.

"The sooner this is done the better," Yusei mumbled in loathing.

The way home to Poppo Time was uneventful and the excitement had only returned when the five of them were greeted by cheerful Rua and Ruka who insisted on knowing every single detail of Yusei's duel.

"Wasn't that exciting," Jack said smugly and got elbowed for his snarky remark by Carly who, hurried to say, "And because I found a way to get in – albeit quite complicated – the three of you could come and watch more duels!"

Bruno, Rua and Ruka cheered in happiness.

In a midst of all that cheeriness, Aki quietly whisked Yusei away so the two of them could finally be alone. They haven't been alone since this morning, when they made love.

She stopped when they were on the second floor, by his room and away from everyone, and turned around to face him.

"Are you okay?" Yusei asked with concern, gently caressing her hair, "You seem a bit distracted."

_How observant_, Aki thought with endearment. "Just a few things on my mind," she responded lightly.

"Like what?" he asked, leading down to trace his lips down her neck and, at the touch of his skin against hers, Aki felt like she had been shot up with electricity and her knees nearly buckled. How did he expect her to think like this? Maybe he didn't.

"Like...you," she finally managed to mumble.

"What about me?" he pressed, leaning up from her neck to look into her eyes.

"I...I was just wondering if I could steal you," Aki said and smiled when he looked surprised by that answer.

"Steal me from what?" Yusei asked in amusement.

"From...here," Aki giggled and stepped back, gesturing at the room around them, "Just to leave for a whole day. Go somewhere. Anywhere. Just you and I."

Yusei cocked his head, a smile gracing his features. "Are you asking me out on a date?" he mused.

Aki blushed and then nodded, bashfully. "Yeah...do you want to? We don't have to if you don't want to, that's totally okay," she responded quickly.

"I want to," he said. It was about time that they two of them had a proper – or, at the very least, an actual – very first date. It was probably the only thing that they, as a couple, haven't done yet. "So...when would you like me to pick you up?" he asked, barely keeping a straight face.

Aki furrowed her brows, as if thinking long and hard about this, while slowly and casually backing into his room. "I say eleven in the morning is a good time," she finally said, maintaining her seriousness, "I need some time to sleep in."

"Sounds like you're planning to stay up late," Yusei said, playing along, as he followed after her and locked the door behind him.

"Yeah, I made some plans," Aki said and let out a weary sigh, as if her "plans" were a total bore. She twirled around and absently walked towards his bed, "They might keep me busy tonight, who knows."

"Why, are you expecting some company?" Yusei asked, still playing but on the verge of folding in the towel and letting her win if that allowed him to do certain sexy things to her. Immediately.

"Um," Aki looked back at him over her shoulder, "Yes, it's kind of a private party." She then lost her serious composure and giggled, "But you're not invited."

"Yeah, right," Yusei grinned, and having had enough of all this teasing he pushed her onto the bed and kissed her in complete abandon.

And Aki wondered, in overwhelming happiness, just what she had done in her life to deserve him.

* * *

_So this chapter kind of reveals Aki's unhealthy and self-destructive thought process. I think that she never truly and wholeheartedly believes that she deserves to be happy…how sad :( Obviously she's still the same, and still happy go-lucky because of Yusei and her friends, but when she's pushed her psyche reveals some of its masochism. And what else can push her more than any threat to Yusei, her only weakness? And because she'd sacrifice anything for him - and do it using any masochistic and irrational means she can – then…well, let's just say that it won't turn out too well for our protagonists :( Just a small spoiler for upcoming angsty chapters. _

_But, until all that depressing stuff happens, the next chapter will be their first date! It will be sweet and fluffy and happy, I promise. I think they deserve to be happy for awhile before all the angst. I can't wait to write it!_

_Stay tuned! _


	18. Chapter 17: Closer

_Author's Note:_

_After a long delay I give you "The Kingdom [be]Comes" Chapter 17!_

_I really apologize for taking so long to write this chapter – it's not even that long! But with the end of the semester coming up, all the assignments and tests so close together, I could barely make time to write. At the same time, when I did make time, I had a bad writer's block. It also didn't help that I accidentally discovered "Cowboy Bebop" after I caught up to all Yu-Gi-Oh 5D's episodes and became instantly addicted to it..._

_Yup, now I'm having hard time not sitting down and writing some Cowboy Bebop fanfic instead. BUT, I will not start anything new until this fanfic is finished so don't worry, I WILL finish this story to the end. And finally finishing this chapter threw me back into Yusei and Aki world so I'm definitely not going to abandon these characters. I love them too much :)_

_This chapter has no duels and no real plot; it's mostly just lots of cheesy Aki and Yusei situations and character developments. Very fluffy and cheesy. Also, a __**warning**__: there is sexuality in the end of this chapter so seriously...beware of the M rating. Although it's not too graphic...it's still...yeah. _

_Thank you for being so patient and for all your reviews, messages and favourites. I always love to hear what people think about my work and any suggestions, questions and constructive criticisms you guys give are very welcome :)_

_**NineInchNailed**__._

_

* * *

_

"_**The essence of romantic love is that wonderful beginning, after which sadness and impossibility may become the rule."**_

_~Anita Brookner._

_

* * *

_

"I love you," he whispered huskily.

"And I love you," she whispered with tears.

He looked at her with intensity and took her into his arms. "Can't you see?" he continued saying, "You are my love, my sun, my moon, my stars…my cosmos. I want you more than life itself! I love you totally, completely and absolutely, without conditions or boundaries. And nothing…_nothing_," he stressed it with emotion, "Will ever change that!"

"Oh, this must be a dream!" she exclaimed.

"My love," he continued whispering excitedly, "I want us to get married…now. Not next year, or maybe some time, but _now_ – just as soon as we can. I want you to bear my children. What do you say?"

"Yes!" she told him, tears freely streaming down her cheeks, "Yes, oh yes!"

And then the two of them began kissing hungrily in a Hollywood-type kiss.

_Blah_, Aki thought in annoyance as she watched the cheesy make-out session on the movie screen and picked up another handful of popcorn, _This might be the worst movie ever_. It was even worse when, fifteen minutes ago, the two main characters were rolling around in bed sheets in slow-motion and the girl was orgasming non-stop two seconds in. Actually, the worst part of that was that regardless of the camp and ridiculousness of the sex scene, Aki couldn't help but feel like her face was set on fire. She pierced her eyes into the movie screen and tried to ignore Yusei's presence next to her as she felt the tension hang in the air. She couldn't help thinking, _We can do it so much better. Why are we watching this and not doing that instead? _

Yusei, meanwhile, was humorously thinking, _Why does it look like he's eating her face_? as he watched the movie character affectionately slobber all over his girlfriend, _And when do the zombies finally catch up to them?_

"I don't care that the world has been taken over by zombies," the main character went on, "All that matters is our love! Our love can defeat anything, Jenny!"

"Oh, John!" Jenny exclaimed once again and jumped back into his arms.

At that very moment a zombie jumped on John's back and began chewing his neck while he screamed and blood spurted out all over Jenny's face.

"John, noooooooooo!" Jenny screamed as she picked up a chainsaw and began sawing the zombie off her boyfriend.

"Oh my god," Aki mumbled in horror and hid her face in Yusei's shoulder to shield from the grotesque violence.

_This might be the best movie ever_, Yusei thought and soothingly stroked Aki's hair. "There, there, Aki," he whispered, "It's over now, you can look."

"Really?" she sighed with relief and looked up only to see Jenny graphically beginning to cut zombie-John's head off while screaming with tears, "Why, John, WHYYYY?"

"Yusei!" Aki exclaimed in shock and quickly covered her eyes with her hands, "You're awful!" She couldn't believe he made her look just as the worst part was happening!

"Sorry, couldn't help it," Yusei apologized, barely keeping himself from laughing out loud at her reaction, "But it's okay, you can look now, it's finished."

"No!" Aki refused, shaking her head as she decidedly kept her hands over her eyes. She could still hear the buzzing of the chainsaw coming from the screen so he wasn't going to fool her a second time!

"Good call," Yusei smiled at her answer because at that very moment Jenny went on a chainsaw rampage against a whole pack of zombies now.

It was another half an hour until they walked out of the movie theatre and became nearly blinded by the afternoon sunlight.

"That was great," Yusei said, stretching his arms lazily as they casually walked to some indeterminate direction.

"I'm glad you liked it," Aki responded, rubbing her sore eyes, "I was worried for awhile because of how the movie turned out."

Yusei let her choose the movie for them and, after struggling to pick between a fluffy romantic comedy, a depressing drama, and an over-the-top action movie, she had decided on some mysterious "Z-Pocalypse" the poster of which featured two people standing in front of a burning skyscraper. Clearly that didn't turn out as she thought it would.

"Worried about what? Could it be the raunchy sex or the ultra-violence?" Yusei asked her with a pretend-naive look on his face.

"Ugh!" Aki blushed and shook her head, "I didn't know that was going to happen!"

"I'm just teasing, Aki," Yusei smiled and gently patted her head like that of a little kid, "Trust me, I had a good time. What would you like to do now though? Lunch?"

"Um," Aki looked away, contemplating, "Maybe not yet. That popcorn was pretty filling. In an hour or two or so? What do you think?"

"Works for me," he nodded.

"Then what do you want to do now?" she asked cheerfully, taking a quick glance at his hand and wondering if she should grab it now, later or wait for him to make that move.

"If you'd like to waste an hour somewhere I can take you to a nice place," Yusei replied as he stopped walking and Aki almost distractedly bumped into him.

_Nice place? _Aki repeated in her head, looking up at him with curiosity. Instantaneously, however, her mind wandered off to dirty places and she felt shy, lowering her gaze.

Yusei observed the particular look that graced her features and laughed, shaking his head. "No, not like _that_. I was going to take you to meet someone important to me," he explained.

"Oh," Aki blushed hard, feeling idiotic and like an unromantic horny wench, "Sure, that'd be great. Ano...who is it?"

"You've met her once before," Yusei said, his hand reaching to hold hers as he began leading her in the direction of his D-Wheel, "It's Martha."

As he drove them over to Martha's, Aki desperately tried to pull together from her memory everything that she could remember about this woman. She knew that Martha ran an orphanage in Satellite where Yusei, Crow and Jack grew up. And she took care of them and many other children and that she was basically like a mother to them.

Aki remembered meeting Martha that one time when all of them fought the Dark Signers – she welcomed them into her home and permitted them the rest they needed before the battle. She was a very sweet and warm older woman and she even spoke to Aki for a moment when she asked if Yusei was able to open her heart. Yusei got her to open her heart, alright…amongst other things...

Furthermore, even though conditions in the city have improved, Aki knew that the three guys – and Crow especially – went to visit Martha, at least every month or two, to help out around the place, visit children, or just keep in touch. Since it was considered to be such a "family" affair, Rua, Ruka, Aki, Carly and Bruno never really came along. But now? She not only got an invitation to go there but was also being personally taken there for a visit. They also weren't going with a big group of friends and it was _just _her and Yusei. Just the two of them. Did this mean something or was she thinking too deeply into this? Because, to her, this felt like she was _formally _being taken to meet the "parents."

By the time Yusei finally parked his D-Wheel by the orphanage, Aki was nearly fidgeting from nervousness. Somehow every single catastrophic scenario of what-could-go-wrong found its way into her head. _Oh god, what if she doesn't remember me? _Aki was thinking, _We only talked for five seconds after all. What if I end up making a terrible impression? What if I do or say something stupid?_

"Ready?" Yusei asked as he dismounted the D-Wheel and unfastened his helmet.

_What if she hates me and Yusei begins to hate me too? For not relating with such a big part of his life, for being disliked by his mother? What would I do then?_ Aki was still thinking as she sat on the D-Wheel and absently stared forward.

"Aki?" Yusei gently called her.

She looked up at him nervously.

"Should we go in?" he suggested with some amusement.

"Oh...yeah!" Aki quickly nodded and stood up, hastily pulling off her own helmet.

Yusei could not fail to notice that she seemed distracted and jittery, and asked her with surprise, "Are you okay?"

"Um, yeah," Aki flashed him a quick smile and tightly grabbed onto his hand, "Let's go."

Yusei decided to relent rather than pursue the mysterious subject further and, after locking his D-Wheel, he lead her into the house. The instant they walked into the home they became deafened by a high-pitched chorus of "Yusei!" before at least four kids aged from six to ten jumped on him with hugs.

"How's everyone?" Yusei greeted them with a bright smile as he squatted to be on the same level with the kids. Aki, who was standing behind him, nervously folded her hands at the front as she watched.

"Good!" the children responded to him in unison, completely oblivious to the fact that there was somebody else with him.

"Did you bring your D-Wheel, Yusei?" one of the boys asked, hopefulness evident in his tone.

"Yes," Yusei nodded.

"Yaaaaaay!" another round of cheering erupted.

"Ayyya," sounded a weary sigh and an elder curly-haired woman walked into the room. "What's with the commotion, children?" Martha asked.

Yusei straightened and offered his foster mother a smile while Aki inconspicuously hid behind him. "Hi, Martha," he said.

Martha stared at the young man in silence before a bellow of joyous laughter escaped her and she ran up to him, pulling him into a tight hug, "Yusei! Finally taken the time from your duelin' to see me!"

"Of course," Yusei gasped out while feeling like his ribs were being crushed from her affectionate embrace.

Martha finally released him and stood back to stare him up and down. "Child, d'you grow a bit taller since I last saw you? Used to be the same as good ol' me!" she exclaimed and reached to pinch his cheek, laughing.

Yusei cringed from Martha's pinching but did suddenly realize that he must have grown a bit taller over time: he now had close to two extra inches in height on his foster mom. He was never of impressive stature – not like Jack or Bruno – so finally and completely outgrowing teen years definitely did him some good.

"Martha, I brought someone with me," he managed to mumble despite the fact that his face was stretched to improbable widths.

Aki, who was cowering behind Yusei all this time, quickly stepped out to the front and bowed her head, "Hi, I'm-"

"Aki-chan!" the older woman exclaimed and pulled her into a hug, "It's you! Welcome back!"

_Okay, she remembers me. So far so good_, Aki thought as all the air escaped her lungs in an instant.

"Good seein' ya again, child, how've you been?" Martha asked her cheerfully once she pulled back to look at her.

For a moment Aki thought that she'd get her cheek in a death grip too but nothing came. "Very good, Martha, thank you," she responded with a smile and noticed that the kids were now staring at her with curiosity. It was as if they had for the first time noticed that Yusei wasn't alone. Aki suddenly felt very conscious of her mini-skirt and began absently tugging at the bottom of it, hoping to pull it down a bit to conceal her garters at least.

"That's good to hear," Martha nodded approvingly and carefully looked to Yusei and then back to Aki. "Ah, I see now," she said with a knowing smile, returning her clairvoyant gaze back to her son, "Is she _it_, Yusei? She is, isn't she?"

Aki had no idea what Martha had just said while Yusei felt like his face had just been set on fire. "Martha!" he exclaimed in exasperation, eyeing Aki from the corner of his eyes with caution.

"Am I what?" Aki asked, confused, and turned to look at Yusei suddenly noticing that his face had taken on a deep shade of red. Was he blushing? If so, why? What was it that made him react like that? She quickly shifted her gaze to Martha, hoping to hear some explanation.

"Aww, she is!" Martha exclaimed with delight, good-naturedly oblivious to the adolescent confusion and embarrassment she had just caused, and pulled at Yusei's cheek again, "Don't be shy, boy, ya can't hide these things from your mother!"

"Martha!" Yusei exclaimed again and quickly looked away, wanting to fall through the ground. He was a thread away from hiding his face behind his hands. This couldn't be happening, it couldn't be! To him, Martha was basically saying, "Hey, Aki, he's in love with you and he basically thinks you're the one, can't you tell? Because I can, haha."

"What?" Aki continued asking in bewilderment, beyond mystified and unable to piece things together. Was she _what_ exactly? What was going on? Was this some kind of an inside joke?

To his greatest relief Yusei realized that Aki didn't catch on. Still, why did everybody insist on telling her everything before he does? Why couldn't it just happen the way he wanted it to? Was it really that funny for everyone who knew? If so then they all unabashedly swam in the shallow pools intermixed with sarcasm and sadism.

"It's okay, Aki-chan," Martha laughed and patted Yusei's shoulder while eyeing the younger woman with a happy twinkle in her eye, "It's nothing."

_Yeah, _now_ it's nothing_, Yusei thought with supposed annoyance but he could never be angry with Martha. Ever. Her intentions were always the purest and the kindest even if they put him into very uncomfortable situations.

"Well, don't just stand there! Come'n for some tea, would ya?" Magda suggested once she finally stopped drilling her foster son and, when the two of them agreed, she lead them into the kitchen. The kids that greeted them, meanwhile, ran off to play outside.

Aki and Yusei were about to take a seat at the table when Martha suddenly turned to Yusei and called out, "Oh, just realized: since you're here, boy, you can fix me broken laundry machine! What perfect timin'!"

Aki could barely suppress her giggle while Yusei sighed. "Yes, Martha," he said obediently, turning to go down to the basement, and Aki was about to follow him when Martha stopped her. "Why'd a princess like you be goin' to that dark and scary basement?" the older woman asked.

_To make-out_, Aki thought involuntarily, honestly wondering if she had some kind of an addiction at this point. But instead of saying any of that, obviously, she just shrugged.

"Why not stay here and help me make tea? Letta boy do his work!" Martha suggested to her.

Aki realized that this actually sounded like a better idea than nonsensically standing next to her boyfriend while he's busy working. She smiled brightly and nodded her agreement.

Yusei awarded her with a fake look of betrayal and disappeared into the doorway.

"Here, you can boil the kettle, Aki-chan," Martha said and handed her a metallic pot, pointing to the stove.

Aki did as she was told and as she waited for the kettle to boil, Martha suddenly spoke up by casually inquiring, "So how long've you and Yusei been together for now?"

Aki jumped, nearly knocking over the kettle, and stared at the older woman in bewilderment. What could she possibly say to that? And how did everybody continuously figure this out? Were Yusei and her really such an open book?

"No need to be shy, child!" Martha laughed and turned off the stove, ushering her to take a seat at the dinner table, "You're young and things like this are bound to happen."

Aki wanted to sink into the ground for being put on the spot like this and talking about her relationship with whom was basically Yusei's mother. God, how awkward. "Uh...we've obviously been friends for a long time now...but officially it's been about a week or so..." she finally responded, sitting down at the table, and feeling completely intimidated and idiotic. She has been in love with him for two years now and they have _only_ been together for less than two weeks? How could anybody possibly take her serious?

"That's alright," Martha comforted her with an all-knowing smile and placed a cup in front of Aki, "Friendship is the strongest foundation for love, don't ya know?"

Aki stared up at the motherly woman with wide-eyes and with a deep crimson blush colouring her cheeks. At this point she was completely speechless.

"Besides," Martha continued, unfazed like they were talking about weather, and poured some tea into her cup, "You're the first girl Yusei's ever brought to formally meet me. I say that makes ya pretty special, Aki-chan, don't it?"

Aki nodded dazedly, looking down at her cup of tea and feeling even more scorching heat on her face. She couldn't even begin to think of what to say to that.

"But don't tell Yusei I told ya that," Martha went on and laughed, "He'll throw a fit and go all, "You're embarrassing me, Martha, you're embarrassing me, blah blah." Those boys," she sighed, "They just can't ever grow up, can they?"

At that same moment Yusei appeared out of the basement and announced, "All done, Martha," and took a seat next to Aki at the table. He suddenly noticed Martha looking more cheerful than usual and the deep blush on Aki's face. "Everything alright?" he asked slowly and with some suspicion, eyeing Aki especially since her expressions were usually a dead giveaway.

"Wonderful!" Martha exclaimed casually and placed a cup of tea in front of him, "And now that you've fixed the laundry machine, Yusei, you can get to fixin' the radiator, checkin' that the dishwasher and garbage disposal are also workin' properly, as well as fixin' up the car. The engine's been a bit rusty recently."

Shock registered on Yusei's face as he stared at his foster mother. "Martha, Aki and I were only passing by! I can make a stop another day especially to-"

"Ahhh, ya'll be just fine," Martha dismissed him with a smile, waving her hand at him, "It won't take _you_ too long, boy! And the two of you can stay for dinner!"

Aki couldn't help a giggle at this point, her blush finally inexistent. In their group of friends Yusei was always the adult, the most responsible and the one everyone listened to. But here, he was being ordered around and treated like a kid and it was an astonishing experience that she didn't think she'd ever witness.

At the same time, she really liked the idea of staying here for dinner. This was such a nice place, full of such sweet and caring people.

Yusei, meanwhile, continued staring at Martha in utter exasperation. He really didn't bring Aki here so she could sit and wait while he runs errands. He didn't think they'd be staying for longer than an hour: he only just wanted to introduce her more formally to Martha, because it was important to him. But after this, he wanted to go on ahead with their date! He had already even decided on a romantic restaurant to take her to.

"So, what do you say?" Martha pressed for response and reached to pinch Yusei's cheek again, causing him to helplessly cringe.

"Yup!" Aki agreed with Martha and looked at Yusei with a bright smile, hoping that he would agree with her on this.

Yusei caught Aki looking at him, noticed her excitement, but he still couldn't completely shake off the feeling of guilt. He hoped that she would be able to forgive him for unromanticizing their first date so much. "Yes, Martha, I will do all that," he finally consented and stood up from the chair. "But give me a second, let me talk to Aki first," he requested and motioned for Aki to follow him to the other room.

"I'm sorry," Yusei began to apologize when he and Aki were standing outside of the kitchen by themselves, "I didn't think we'd be staying here longer. I understand if-" but suddenly was shushed by Aki's finger on his lips.

"No, Yusei, no," Aki said, shaking her head, "This is perfect. I _mean_ it." She then added with a gentle smile, "And I wouldn't have it any other way."

Yusei smiled at her response and nodded. She was just so amazing...how could she be so amazing, so understanding...and just so perfect? Almost in a daze he traced his fingers on the side of her cheek and leaned down to kiss her when sudden screeching noises of complaint erupted next to them.

"Ewwwwwwwww," groaned the small group of boys who have just come downstairs and caught the sight of two lovers, "Kissing! Gross!"

Aki quickly looked down to the floor, for a hundredth time today stricken with an embarrassed blush, while Yusei looked towards the unwelcome interrupters. "How are you guys doing?" he asked them nonchalantly.

"Yusei, are you going to show us your D-Wheel today?" one of the boys asked him.

"Yes, but only after running a few chores first," Yusei responded.

The boy looked back at his friends and exchanged a few excited looks with them before he faced him again and exclaimed, "Can we come with?"

"On the chores?" Yusei couldn't help an amused smile at their expense, "Why?"

"Because Yusei always gets to do the coolest stuff. Like...fixing things and stuff...grown-up stuff..." answered the youngest-looking boy while looking at him with adoration.

"Yeah, if we help you out then you'd show us your D-Wheel faster!" another boy added.

"That works," Yusei agreed and boys cheered with even more excitement and ran up to him. The youngest boy even grabbed his hand. "See you in a bit?" Yusei asked his beautiful lover, turning to look at her.

Aki nodded with a smile and watched, mesmerized, as he departed with a group of kids where every single one of them ogled him with idolization. He was just so good with everything. There was just something about him that drew in absolutely everyone and sometimes he was a magnet truly keeping everything together. He was almost godly. And he drew her in too...and after falling so hard for him, he had finally chosen her.

Aki couldn't believe her luck. Just how could she?

"Aki-chan!" Martha called, interrupting her daydreaming, "Would ya like to help me out with dinner?"

"Hai!" Aki exclaimed happily and ran into the kitchen, happy to be kept busy.

An hour into preparing a large dish of chicken sukiyaki and nearly a basin of beef stew together, Martha shooed Aki away. "It's all done but it'll take some time to set in. So go and play outside and I'll call when it's ready," Martha told her as she pushed her out of the heated room into the backyard.

Aki complied and now stood outside on the porch, trying to figure out what she should do. She saw that the sky was turning a light shade of purple as the sun began its daily voyage towards the horizon. She checked her cell phone to see that it was almost five o'clock now, realizing just how fast the time flew by.

Upon further inspection of her surroundings, Aki noticed Yusei and his groupies on the distance. Her boyfriend was standing over the raised hood of a truck, encircled by an even bigger group of boys now, and was showing them something in the engine. Saiga was standing nearby with a contemplative expression on his face.

"Here is what you do," Yusei was explaining to the thirteen year old teenager standing next to him, "Check the battery charge, make sure the spark plugs aren't too old or dirty. That's a distributor," he pointed out, "And it looks fine now but if it rattles it could break and the engine won't get power. Additionally, oil needs to be replaced every three to five thousand kilometres so keep a track of that."

"Awesome..." the young teen hummed, staring at the engine in front of him with outmost fascination.

"But remember: this is just for_ basic_ checks and maintenance in case Martha needs help and Saiga's not around. And always be very careful," Yusei concluded. Saiga chuckled.

"Okay!" the teen nodded excitedly and Yusei carefully closed down the hood of the car.

As Aki absently continued watching him from the distance, regretting that the wind carried only bits and snippets of the guys' lesson, she suddenly felt a gentle tug at her coat. She quickly looked down to see that a small girl was standing next to her, her tiny hand clutching at the bottom of her magenta jacket. She couldn't have been older than seven.

"Hi..." the little girl greeted her, her enormous green eyes staring up at her in what seemed like wonder.

"Hi," Aki answered, looking at her with curiosity.

"Are you...Aki-san?" the girl asked her.

"Yup, that's me," Aki nodded.

"I'm Rei," the girl introduced herself.

"Nice to meet you, Rei-chan," Aki smiled brightly.

At that point the little girl looked away and, without saying anything else, just began playing with her long brown hair.

_Okay_... Aki thought and turned away to look back at Yusei when at that same second she felt another tug at her coat.

"Do you duel, Aki-san?" Rei asked her.

"Yes, I do. Do you?" Aki asked.

"Me too," the little girl smiled, revealing a joyful and slightly toothless smile, "I love flowers so my cards are like flowers." She then dug into her pockets and produced a thin pack of cards, holding them out for Aki to see.

"These are beautiful, Rei-chan," Aki said as she sat down on the porch steps and took the cards into her hands to take a better look, "I see that a lot of your cards are based around lilies."

"A lily is my favourite," Rei replied, shyly shuffling her feet, "Aki-san...do you think they're strong enough?"

"They're perfect," Aki nodded. "Here, I have a plant-type deck as well," she said and took out her own cards, showing them to Rei, "My favourite flower is a rose so I built my deck around it."

"Amazing!" the little girl exclaimed as she now held Aki's cards in her own hands, "How pretty...you even have a rosey dragon! I hope I could get a lily dragon one day."

"You will," Aki smiled.

At the same time, Yusei absent-mindedly watched the kids climb all over the D-Wheel – the older ones even inconspicuously trying to start it (and failing) – while Saiga was asking for his attention.

"Yusei, everything alright with you guys? With those blood duels and the prohibition and whatnot?" Saiga spoke up in a hushed voice.

Yusei nodded rigidly. "It's fine. Seems like this may soon be coming to a conclusion," he responded quietly.

"Good. As long as it's over before any more people become affected," Saiga said with a deep sigh.

Yusei would say nothing else on the matter because he suddenly noticed Aki on the distance and forgot everything about the conversation he just had. He saw that she was laughing and showing something from her purse to a group of girls who have come to surround her. Without realizing it, he lighted with a smile.

She seemed so happy and carefree. Outside of her interactions with Rua and Ruka he had never before noticed just how wonderful she was with kids. She had definitely grown out of her painful Arcadia days, not that her time with that organization had tainted her in any way: at the very least it gave her the strength to stand up for herself, to defend herself against those who threatened to harm her. And she was not only a formidable opponent but she was, in countless ways, his equal. In fact, many times over, he thought her to be _better_ or the best of them all: he thought her heart to be the purest, the strongest... But, at the same time, she was so vulnerable and so fragile that he consistently felt a tug of protectiveness in his chest, of wanting to take her into his arms and to fight off any sorrow or any pain that could come her way.

Every day she continued to bloom like a flower of unrivalled beauty. And she was his now. His one and only.

And here she was, right here, so beautiful and perfect. She seemed angelic, almost. No, she _was_. There was nobody better. There could not have been anybody better.

And that was when Yusei suddenly knew. He knew. He knew and he had not a speck of doubt.

He loved her. He loved Aki and he _always_ did. He loved everything about her. He didn't know why it had taken him so long to realize it, perhaps to _admit_ it to himself, but somehow watching her now...so happy and so amazing...he just knew. It was almost an epiphany. He even realized that – no matter how absurd their words were on the surface level – Jack and Crow were both right in their own way when they offered their insights the other day.

Crow described it in terms of physical intimacy and, despite sounding so shallow, he was actually right because physical intimacy was just as important as emotional. Nothing before ever made him feel the way Aki made him feel...when he was with her he felt happiness that surpassed realms of possibility. Nothing could possibly compare to when he was with her.

At the same time, Jack described it as a moment that just dawns on you, something that you can't possibly predict; something that you assign your own meaning to. Yusei realized that, for him, loving someone was feeling for someone unconditionally...for wanting to put their happiness above your own...for wanting to be there for them no matter what. If Aki did not feel the same way for him...and if he only got to have her for a short period of time...then what would matter was that he got to have her for as long as he did. And that he made her happy to the best of his capacity for the time they were together. Yusei knew then that if there was somebody else that Aki would decide to be with...that, no matter how agonizing, he would accept that if it was something she truly wanted. If it made her happier.

He would do everything for her. Everything. Anything. And he would die for her.

It was true and it would always be true.

Yusei realized that he was holding his breath nearly all this time and let out a deep sigh. He felt so at ease now, so happy...and he wanted to tell her everything. He really wanted to tell her. Now.

"Yusei?" he heard somebody call him and he reluctantly tore his gaze away from the one person that mattered more than the world to him - more than _anything_ really - and looked in the direction of that voice.

"Can you let us drive it? Just for a few seconds, please," begged him a young boy, no more than nine years old.

Even though he was rather preoccupied at the moment Yusei still couldn't help but smile as he directed his attention back to the kids surrounding his D-Wheel. "Maybe when you're all a bit older," he said.

Aki, meanwhile, couldn't remember how and at which point a big group of girls, ranging from kindergarten age and young teens, decided to come and hang out with her. Especially why. But she wasn't complaining and instead felt quite ecstatic.

A few of them were now going through her deck of cards while the others settled on ravaging the rest of her make-up bag.

"Stupid boys, they're so immature," a thirteen year old girl profoundly told her while watching the "boys' playground" next to Yusei's D-Wheel.

"They're not so bad," Aki responded while she concentrated on braiding Rei's hair.

"All they ever care about is cars, D-Wheels and duels," the girl continued complaining, "Like, all those are all great but it's not all there is, you know? What about romance and stuff?"

Aki looked up in the direction the girl was eyeing and noticed that she seemed to be longing after the teenage boy that Yusei taught the engine basics to.

"Give it a few more years. They get better, I promise," Aki told her.

The young teenage girl sighed. "So immature," she repeated dejectedly, "They're not like older boys like Yusei or Crow or..." she paused and then added with a timid smile, "Jack."

Aki barely held herself from rolling her eyes at the source of the girl's infatuation. Instead, she answered, "They're older, that's all there is to them," and then added, "Give it time." It wasn't completely true, of course. As far as Aki was concerned, Yusei was always mature, amazing and gorgeous and she didn't care for anyone to prove to her otherwise.

"I guess," the girl sighed and turned her attention back to the batch of lipglosses she took out of Aki's make-up bag.

Aki finished braiding Rei's hair and ended the long braid with a pink bowtie. "There all done," she said and watched as a little girl twirled happily.

"Thank you, Aki-neesan," Rei joyfully thanked her.

"Looks like you're having fun," Aki suddenly heard a breathtakingly familiar deep and soothing voice and looked up to see Yusei near her with his groupies. As he stopped he folded his arms and a few boys behind him mimicked him and now stood in the same pose.

"Hi, Yusei," Aki beamed at him and absently tucked a lock of hair behind her ear, "And yes, I am."

Yusei looked around at the girls surrounding her and then back at her, smiling. "You're wonderful," he told her.

Aki heard the thirteen year old girl sigh dreamily at Yusei's comment and suddenly realized that all the kids that flocked to them both were now intently listening to their conversation. "I'm okay," Aki quickly responded to him, blushing.

"I want to tell you something," Yusei said and offered her his hand, "Come with me?"

It was as if he also felt the need for privacy. "What is it?" Aki pondered out loud, quite curious, as she stood up from the porch stairs and smoothed her skirt.

"Nothing you don't already know, probably," Yusei smiled at her, "But I want to tell you privately. So come."

Aki nodded and accepted his hand, letting him lead her away, while the responses behind them varied from gagging to dreamy sighs.

Yusei pulled her away around the corner to the other side of the backyard, away from the noise, and turned to look at her.

"Everything okay?" Aki asked him softly.

"Yes," Yusei responded and took a deep breath. And then, just holding his breath and without saying anything else, he proceeded staring at her. He suddenly felt at a loss of words. Now that he was standing in front of her, about to tell her how he felt, he felt nervous and mortified. Shy, even. _What's wrong with me_, he wondered in frustration. Was he really that afraid of rejection? Of her saying something like "thank you" instead of "I love you too"? No, it was more like he was afraid of hearing, "I think I want to be just friends now, sorry." God, what a nightmare.

Aki stood there, staring up at him and still waiting to hear what this was about.

Yusei opened his mouth but nothing came out.

"Yusei...?" Aki asked with light humour, "Are you sure you're okay?"

_God, no, _Yusei thought and quickly looked away, suddenly noticing something on the distance. A distraction, good. Maybe it's what he needed to compose his thoughts. Looking there, he quietly said, "I used to dream about that."

"About what?" Aki asked with surprise and followed his gaze.

"That," he pointed towards the bright skyscrapers of Neo Domino seen glowing on the dark horizon, "Growing up that's all I could think about. About some day being able to live _there_ once everything is better."

For a moment Aki's memories of yesterday's conversation with Crow flooded her and she felt a yank of sorrow. "Yusei..." she whispered.

"I think I want to live at the Tops one day. And I will," he promised her. The Tops was an upper class residential area and the most expensive neighbourhood in the city. Surely it seemed ludicrous to assume that he'd live somewhere like that but he didn't care. It was where he was born too. He knew he would do it someday. _And maybe you could live with me_, he thought about Aki but bit his lower lip, unable to say it aloud. This obviously wasn't the time for _that_ if he wasn't even able to confess his affection for her!

"You will," Aki affirmed with a sad smile and reached up to touch the back of her hand to his marked cheek, "You can do anything, Yusei."

Yusei returned his gaze back to her and saw her stunning amber eyes look at him with such conviction, gentleness and affection...He suddenly relaxed. She was so wonderful...she was the one. How could he not tell her this? It didn't matter what her response would be, it really didn't. What mattered was letting her know how he felt about her, completely opening his heart to her.

"Aki," he said quietly and took her hands into his own, "I just really want to tell you something right now." He paused.

Aki stared back into his eyes with curiosity and expectation. She had no idea what he was going to tell her and assumed he was asking her to another date of some sort. Her heart flattered at the thought.

"Aki," he finally gathered the courage and squeezed her hands, "I...I lo-"

"DINNER!" sounded a loud squeal next to them and Aki tore her gaze away from Yusei to see a hyper kid running up to them with excited news. "Martha sent me to say dinner is ready!" the kid announced to them again.

"Okay, thank you," Aki told the child gratefully and let go of Yusei's hands, deciding to keep the atmosphere as child-friendly as possible.

Yusei bit down on his tongue and felt like banging his head against the wall. "Thanks," he said dismissingly, barely having withheld himself from giving a _very_ sour look to the kid.

When the kid ran away Aki turned back to her lover and gently brought back the topic of their conversation. "Yusei, what is it? What are you trying to tell me?"

Yusei was looking at her like a wounded puppy. The moment was killed and he couldn't say it anymore. So instead he shook his head slowly with a defeated sigh, "Nothing, Aki. It was...nothing."

"Alright," Aki smiled at him, decided not to press him further. Whatever it was, if it was important, he'd eventually tell her. So she turned to walk back to the house when Yusei suddenly grabbed her wrist, stopping her.

"No, wait," he said and when she looked back he pulled her back to him and sealed his mouth over hers in a demanding kiss. If he couldn't tell her he loved her now at least he could show her, damn it! Or at least do as much as he could without the confines of their bedroom.

Aki felt like fire erupted in her. Mindlessly, she pressed against him and her mouth answered his frenzied demand.

Yusei's fingers threaded in her hair as he pulled her closer to him, ravaging her, wanting to taste her more and more. He forgot to breathe and when he had to break the kiss to draw in some air, he looked upon her, his eyes eating her up in desire.

Aki's eyes flickered open as she stared at him, feeling nearly delirious from such sudden and powerful intimacy. "I...don't kiss on the first date," she whispered breathlessly, closing her eyes, suddenly finding the strength in herself to tease him. The heat of his breath on her lips was driving her mad.

Yusei barely fought off a chuckle. "And yet you kissed me this morning," he responded as he pressed his lips against her throat, nearly causing a light moan to escape her.

Aki didn't know how she had any trace of conscious cognitive operations left. Still, she managed to say, "No...that was before our date. It doesn't count."

If she wanted to play then it was more than fine with him. Completely intoxicated by such proximity with her, he mumbled, "Then give it back," and then consumed her in another kiss. He regretted that they weren't in bed now, being as openly intimate as they wanted.

Aki dived into another deep and passionate kiss, gripping his shoulders for balance when her knees buckled. Her tongue fought his as she sank into him, feeling an intense onslaught on her senses: his taste, his smell, his body.

Yusei was the one to break the kiss again. "There, I took it back," he simply pointed out, breathing heavily, and pulled back to look at her.

"Okay, I changed my mind," Aki gave up and pushed her lips against his again, nearly shoving him against the outside wall of the house as she resumed devouring his mouth, her hands freely roaming over his body. She wished that they were somewhere private now, somewhere where they could do whatever they wanted, where they wouldn't be distracted, somewhere-

"DINNER, GUYS! Come on!" sounded another eager screech alongside hurried footsteps, interrupting them. And then, instantaneously, a series of annoyed grunts broke out, "Ewwww, kissing! Ew! Ew! Ew!"

Aki stopped kissing Yusei and twirled around to face a group of youngsters who were staring and pointing at them with disgusted looks on their faces.

"Oh please," she sighed. All these kids just can't stop ruining everything today! So annoying!

"That's alright," Yusei smiled and placed his hand on Aki's shoulder, "Let's go." There was no use in trying to make this place into what it wasn't: private.

After a big and delicious dinner for all the inhabitants which included at least fifteen kids in addition to Yusei, Aki, Saiga and Martha (and after Yusei and Aki were dismayed with doubled portions they received because, according to Martha, they were "too skinny"), the two of them got ready to leave.

"Aki-san, please come and visit us again," some of the girls begged as they clung to her and on the other side Yusei also had a number of kids hang around his neck, pleading him to visit more often. And bring his D-Wheel of course.

Lastly, Martha gave them both rib-crushing hugs and tore Yusei's cheek a little more before they were finally on their way.

"Thank you for bringing me here again, Yusei," Aki told him when they were away from the house and walking towards his D-Wheel, "It was lovely...I loved it."

"Are you sure?" Yusei asked her with concern. He still felt bad.

"You worry too much," Aki responded with tenderness as she walked past him and mounted the D-Wheel.

Yusei smiled and closured her, gently brushing his hand against her cheek. "You're amazing...you know that?" he asked her quietly.

Aki blushed, her mind racing, but still managed to tease him, "So I've heard."

_And you don't hear it nearly enough_, Yusei thought and leaned down to kiss her lips. "Let's go home," he said softly once the kiss was over and Aki nodded dazedly.

Upon arriving at Poppo Time, Aki silently grabbed his hand and pulled him upstairs.

"Do you want to have a tea or something?" Yusei attempted to suggest as they passed the kitchen with all their friends in it but Aki just shook her head, leading him away, completely ignoring everyone else.

The second the door behind them closed Aki elegantly let her coat fall to the ground and slowly turned around to face him. She saw the way he watched her, the usually aware cobalt blue of his eyes clouding with lust. Without uttering another word, Aki draped her arms around his shoulders and locked her lips on his in a lingering and sensual kiss.

Yusei felt like every nerve in his body twisted in delight when her mouth came to his again, it was so soft and so tempting. Slowly but possessively he wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her closer to him as he deepened her kiss. He dipped into her parted lips to slowly tease her tongue with his and Aki resisted the urge to latch onto him greedily and to devour his mouth in a spurt of frenzy. She decided, instead, that she wanted to take it slower this time.

At the very same time Yusei decided that he wanted the same thing. Keeping the kiss alive, his hands began to unlace her corset with infinite care and infinite patience. When he finished unlacing it he let it fall to the ground and gently caressed her now bare breasts which caused Aki to shudder in pleasure. She broke the kiss at that moment to ease his jacket off him and then to pull his t-shirt over his head. She then intertwined her fingers through his belt hoops and coyly began walking backward to the bed, pulling him with her, all the while undoing his pants in the process. He gave her more courage than she ever believed she had, their intimacy now bordering between breathtaking novelty and wonderful comfort.

Yusei followed her, backing her up, his hands sliding underneath her tight skirt to caress her skin before beginning to pull down on the garment.

Aki suddenly stopped, an arm-length away from the bed, eased down his loosened pants along with his boxers and then slowly knelt down in front of him.

Yusei froze up, staring down at her with unease. "Aki-" he began to say.

Aki felt overwhelmed with the desire to give pleasure to him, _only_ to him, and she was daring to do just that right now. "Yusei, let me," was all she said to his protesting and then she leaned forward, taking him into her lips.

Yusei flinched at the unfamiliar and unbelievably intense sensation and his next intake of air was erratic. He remained completely still, only his hands were touching her shoulders and clutching tightly whenever she tried something with her mouth that nearly made him lose it right then and there. And each gasp and sigh that sounded from him brought Aki such immense delight that she felt as if she was the one receiving pleasure instead. No, she felt so much more than that.

It wasn't long before Yusei could barely take any more. Breathing heavily, his hands threaded into her hair as he beseeched her to look up at him. "Aki…I-I need you," he groaned once her eyes met his own.

With a measured nod Aki pulled away and carefully stood up to her feet, stepping back while her nimble fingers were doing away with her undone skirt and garters as well as her panties. With her eyes not leaving his, she climbed onto the bed and quietly said, "Then...come here," bidding him to come to her as she now began trembling all over from anticipation.

Yusei didn't need to be asked twice. For a moment, his eyes looked over her, so alluring and irresistible, and he fought himself from completely succumbing to his burning lust and ravishing her with intensity bordering on savagery. But, instead, he gently pushed her to lie down on the bed, his knees pushing her legs apart and levelled over her. Aki instantly arched her hips against his, revealing her impatience, unable to wait another moment for him to take her.

He peered into her amber eyes, depthless with desire, dark with passion, at her red hair splaying over the white satin almost as if a rose lying on the snow, and she was the most beautiful sight he had ever seen. Keeping their eye contact he finally followed her silent command and began to press himself forward into her, summoning a breathless moan in response from her.

"Yusei…" Aki gasped, squeezing her eyes in pleasure, and enclosed her arms around his neck. Every single time he felt so amazing, so completely amazing, almost too much to take.

Yusei eased all the way in and let out a strangled sigh, burying his face in the nape of her neck. He kept still for a few seconds to calm down a bit so he could prolong this or otherwise this would be over in under a minute. She felt so incredible that he could barely take it. It was almost painful. He took a couple of controlled breaths and was ready by the time Aki's hands gently framed his face and directed his attention back to her.

Looking into his eyes, she whispered, "Yusei...make love to me," and leaned up to capture his lips in a kiss.

Without another moment of hesitation, Yusei responded to her kiss and engulfed her gasp when he began moving his hips at a slow and steady pace, pushing deep with each thrust.

Almost instantly this time, Aki began to feel an intense tension beginning to swell inside her, the tension she learnt to recognize and welcome. Craving more she wrapped her long legs around his hips, drawing him in deeper and both of them groaned at the sensation.

_Like that...just like that..._Aki thought in near frenzy and intensified their kiss by slipping her tongue into his mouth, letting out a muffled moan every time he rocked into her.

Yusei kept kissing her, his lips not leaving hers for a second; he wanted each of her breaths to mingle with his, to become his own. He resumed his slow and thorough pace, concentrating on her and only her for she was the only one there could ever be for him. He wanted to savour her, to drown in her, to lose himself with her.

The pressure inside of her was now becoming unbearable. It kept building...and building to impossible heights...as Yusei pushed her further where she was aching to go with each thrust...Aki was almost there, she could feel it so close and her moans got louder. Torn between rocking her hips faster and harder to reach that unbelievable peak sooner and keeping it as slow and teasing as now, Aki suddenly realized what this was: every time they've done it thus far they usually bordered between urgent and zealous, on the edge of aggressive even, as if in heat. But this time...this was different...while it was still the same blinding and fervent passion, it was...so tender and yet so strong...so intense...so overwhelming...it was as if he was trying to make this last forever.

Aki had to break their lingering kiss because she was barely able to breathe, squeezing her eyes and pressing her forehead against his shoulder while Yusei's lips now trailed kisses over her neck. She was so close...so close...she was almost there.

This felt impossibly good. This was lust...lust...lust...burning, scorching lust...but...no, it wasn't it. It was something else. Something _more_. Something so much more.

And Aki suddenly knew it. She knew it in a moment of blinding clarity.

It was love. It must have been.

In the last moment of awareness, she pulled back from his shoulder to look up at him.

...desperate, passionate, powerful...

She searched for his eyes with urgency.

... all-consuming, real, selfless...

The cobalt blue eyes found her and she saw vulnerability and openness in them that tugged at her heart. It was as if she looked into his soul.

..._mutual_...

Gently, his hand caressed her face.

...love.

"Yusei," was all Aki could utter before she shot beyond pleasure into absolute delirium, into intense and transcendental ecstasy. Each muscle in her body clenched and she clung to him, scratching, biting, whimpering, whispering her love confession but too inarticulate and too inaudible for him to understand...and it didn't seem to end, to ever end...

Aki collapsed on her back, her whole body shaking from the intensity of the pleasure, as if from after-shocks. She must have blacked out for awhile because she distantly realised that hot tears were welling in her eyes. She brought up her weak and trembling hands to stop them before it would look like she's in hysterics.

Yusei slowed down to a complete stop and grabbed a hold of her hands as he sat up, pulling her with him.

Lightheaded and nearly intoxicated, Aki made some sort of an erotic noise of agreement and followed his command, straddling his lap while he sat back on his heels.

Yusei placed her arms around his shoulders. He was still inside her and he started rocking his hips again but, unable to bear the teasing slow pace any longer, he began moving faster and harder. Having been holding himself back all this time, he was so unbearably close...he was almost there...

Aki nuzzled against his neck, closing her eyes, her body feeling heavy and almost like that of a ragdoll. Still, she began to move her hips up and down in correspondence to his, realizing that he hasn't gotten his pleasure yet, and it was the only thing that mattered and drove her now.

Breathing heavily, Yusei pressed his lips against her collarbone and then moved his head to her neck, burying his face in her hair. It had an inimitable tinge of flowers and fruit...it was heavenly. _I love you, Aki...how I love you..._he thought and pressed his forehead against her shoulder, holding his breath. Almost there...almost...

There.

Yusei froze and moaned quietly as wave after wave of intense bliss enveloped him in mind numbing ecstasy. Somehow Aki's hand stumbled on his, intertwining their fingers, and he gripped tightly onto it. His mind went completely blank with the exception of hyper-sensitive awareness of her. Her. Only her. The only one for him.

When it was over, Yusei felt goosebumps despite the fact that he felt warm...probably the warmest he's ever felt.

"I...think I need to lie down," he whispered, his voice nearly failing him. Black spots were swimming in front of his eyes.

"I feel the same," Aki whispered back and cuddled to him when he lied down flat on his back, draping an exhausted arm around her to pull her close. His heart was a thunder thumping in his ears and as if trying to break through his chest while he struggled to catch his breath.

Aki couldn't say anything and neither could he. Everything that could have been said was _felt_... Drained, Aki passed out into deep sleep in seconds and Yusei followed her example.

It was two o'clock in the morning when Aki slipped out from the warmth of their bed and silently began getting dressed.

When she finished getting ready, she turned back to look at Yusei sleeping, his expression peaceful and unguarded. _It will all be over soon and then you and I could just be together. Worry free. You will be worry free_, she thought and, impossibly gently, placed a kiss on his cheek. Her heart sank when he stirred but she breathed in relief when he didn't wake up.

After making sure that she had everything with her – most importantly her deck of cards – she tiptoed her way to the door and turned to take one last look at him.

_I'll see you once this is over and done with, Yusei. Just in a few hours_, Aki thought and left, quietly closing the door on the man she loved and was now certain loved her in return.

In a few hours she would find out that she had just committed the greatest mistake of her life.

* * *

_So that was some cute and fluffy before the big storm. _

_Lots of things will happen in the next few chapters and most questions will be answered. _

_It will also get considerably darker and more depressing from now on...just a warning if you don't like to read about too many unhappy things. But I promise that this story will have a happy ending. _

_So stay tuned!_


	19. Chapter 18: The mistake

_Author's Note:_

_So after a very long delay I finally present "The Kingdom [be]Comes" Chapter 18!_

_I really have to apologize for taking so long to write this... school and work overwhelmed me in December and I could barely do anything. BUT I give you not only this chapter but also a whole bunch of additional __updates._

_**Updates (18/01/2011):**_

_**Chapter 18**__: new._

_**Part I**__: I decided to separate this fanfic into 3 unofficial parts – rather than make separate sequels – so everything from Chapter 2+ so far is Part I. This is not an actual 'chapter' and just contains an overall quote for Part 1. _

_**Chapter 9**__: major changes starting from the middle – this is the chapter I was always most unhappy with and so I made lots of adjustments. Basically Yusei and Aki still have their first kiss and it all ends the same, but there are lots of dialogue and behaviour changes leading up to it.  
_

_**Chapter 13 and 14**: added one or two sentences of dialogue for the sexy scenes but, overall, nothing eventful.  
_

_I want to thank everyone for reviewing, for asking questions or for favouring this story and for being such supportive and patient readers. I hope you like this Chapter although, I should warn you, it doesn't have Yusei (and, thus, no sex...) and is mostly about Aki and Mahdi (my evil OC) and some mysteries. _

_Thank you for reading!_

_**NineInchNailed.**_

_**

* * *

**_

"_**Whatever is done for love always occurs beyond good and evil.**__**"**_

_~Friedrich Nietzsche_

_

* * *

_

Aki stood, embracing her arms to keep herself from shaking from anxiety and cold, as she waited for Mahdi in the middle of an abandoned parking lot. Even though it was located just at the back of the "Free Duellists' Association" stadium and was well lit despite all the scrap junk, Aki could not shake off her fear. She was alone in the middle of the night and about to duel a man who appeared to be connected to numerous deaths...so naturally she was afraid. Her D-Wheel was an arm-length away from her, reminding her that there was always a quick escape.

Occasionally, her hand sneaked to her forearm and she held to it, hoping over and over that the Crimson Dragon would protect her should anything go wrong. There were instances when the Crimson Dragon had physically made a celestial appearance, either to save someone or to prevent something, and Aki hoped that it could happen for her too. At the same time she reassured herself that her psychic powers would be there as a backup in that case as well: sometimes making a frightening monster materialize outside of a duel was more effective than anything.

It had been long past the ten minutes that Mahdi promised to meet her in. The whole meeting was rather nerve-wrecking too: she managed to catch him outside of the FDA head office barricade and challenged him to a duel, citing revenge as a reason for herself as well as an incentive for him. He recognized her on the spot, too, as a psychic duellist who screwed up his duel with Crow and as a member of 5D's team from WRPG's, as well as one of the six Signers. "I accept the challenge," he mused, "That duel had never been properly completed. And since you were the one who stopped my duel, you will be the one to pay should you lose."

_Death_, Aki thought of the implication of his words but she still accepted the conditions. She wasn't going to lose, she just knew it. She had safety nets for any case: her psychic powers, the Crimson Dragon as a means to interfere, and her Signer bond with her friends who would arrive wherever she is should she truly need them. She hoped to use her Signer bond only as a last option – she did not want her friends, and especially Yusei, to know about any of this until it was over. She didn't want to unnecessarily worry them.

Then Mahdi told her that he'd only duel her if they duel outside and not inside of the stadium. "You're a psychic duellist and I know you won't hold back on trying to hurt me. And this place is not my own to do as I wish: I cannot allow any damage to occur to it or to disrupt its reputation," he told her. When Aki attempted to intervene and say that she wasn't going to use her psychic powers on him – even though she actually considered it – he stopped her, "What nonsense: I'm not stupid. If you want to duel me we'll have to duel outside. I'm not risking this."

Finally, he told her to meet him outside at the parking lot in ten minutes and disappeared in the control room.

And here Aki was now, waiting at three in the morning to duel somebody who might be involved in mass murders. _Stupid, stupid, stupid_, she kept repeating in her head, _Couldn't come up with a better plan yourself and had to accept any conditions he'd set! But because he has to duel Yusei later on today this is the only way._

"There you are," a chilling baritone called out from the distance and Aki jumped, twirling around to see the sickly thin white-haired man turn the stadium corner and begin walking towards her. "That took awhile and I apologize: I needed to assemble my deck," he said.

"That's fine," Aki answered, controlling her voice and hoping that her response came off as determinant and not as a terrified little girl she felt like inside.

Mahdi reached the parking lot and, thankfully, stopped a significantly far distance away from her thus making her feel a bit safer. "What are the conditions we settled on, again?" he inquired as he manually shuffled his deck, "Although you are a psychic duellist and I expect you to hurt me, I _doubt_ you're the type who'd wish death upon another..." he smiled at her then, "This is if, of course, I manage to lose to you by some miracle."

Aki felt confused by his words. "I don't understand. Are you saying it's possible to control the conditions of those sacrificial duels?" she asked, "How can it be? It's an eye for an eye, is it not?"

"It _is_ possible, of course. You just have to know how," Mahdi said, "And it just happens that I know how. So what are your conditions? Set them. Unless, that is, your end result is to _kill_ me. Then we'll play as default."

"And then the loser is bound by those conditions? No avoiding?" Aki asked, needing to hear the confirmation.

"Yes," he nodded firmly.

Aki felt a brief wave of relief wash over her. Her original plan was to question Mahdi throughout the duel and then end it with her psychic powers before the completion of her win would take his life. But this, if it was true, seemed as a good alternative even though she'd still keep her own plan in mind.

Her relief didn't last too long, however. Instantly, doubt and suspicion crept into her mind: how was it that he could control the conditions of these duels? Could everybody control them or did he have some special power? Could some things be not as they seem?

"Hurry up, I don't have all night," Mahdi sighed.

"Um..." Aki fought off her alarming mistrust to make a decision, "If I win you have to answer all my questions. Anything I'd ask you, in full truth. You have to tell me everything you know. And then I go free."

"You're assuming I know anything..." he smiled, sounding presumptuously innocent, "But alright, it's a deal."

_Of course he knows something_, Aki thought. "Deal," she echoed him.

"Then let's start this," Mahdi concluded and placed his card deck into the duel disk so it could get shuffled automatically now and Aki did the same. He then casually pulled out a large Swiss knife out of his pockets, instantly making Aki feel nauseous and causing her to look away – even though she'd expected to see this – and then pressed it into his palm, cringing as he drew his own blood. Then he knelt down and silently touched his bleeding hand to the ground.

In an instant, the ground began to shake as a colossal circle began forming around them, its boundaries and symbols glowing blood-red. It enclosed them in a sealed vacuum with impenetrable walls. Finally, the mysterious Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs appeared inside the _Sutekh Sacrificō_ seal and the ground finally seized to shake.

Aki saw that something was odd and didn't correspond to the usually observable pattern. "You didn't cut your wrists. Your eyes did not turn red within red nor did you chant to create this seal. What gives?" she inquired with apprehension. The conditions were different this time, true, but she still needed a coherent explanation.

"The conditions have changed, haven't they?" Mahdi shrugged while he casually tied a handkerchief around his bleeding hand, "Why would I unnecessarily endanger my own life for this? My wounds _still_ haven't healed since my duel with your friend. I almost died that day. I don't need to do this again."

"But..." Aki stuttered.

"I'm nice," he interrupted her, "So I'll let you take the first turn. Go for it."

Aki temporarily shook off her suspicions to draw a card.

[Aki Izayoi]

[**Beginning of Turn One**: 0 Monsters; 0 Cards on Field; 6 Cards in hand; LP4000]

"I summon Violet Witch in Defence Mode," Aki announced and a Level 4 fairy wearing purple robes appeared on the field; the monster's attack points were at 1100 and defence points at 1200.

"I then place one card face down on the field and end my turn," Aki concluded and one hidden card showed up.

[Aki Izayoi]

[**End of Turn One**: Violet Witch (Lvl.4) ATK1100/DEF1200 in Defence mode; 1 Card on Field; 4 Cards in hand; LP4000]

_Play defensively to see what he does first. Then try to summon Black Rose Dragon before he manages to pull out the Anti-Synchro card,_ Aki confirmed the strategy to herself.

"My turn," Mahdi declared on his side of the field and drew a card.

[Mahdi]

[**Beginning of Turn One**: 0 Monsters; 0 Cards on Field; 6 Cards in hand; LP4000]

"I summon Makyura the Destructor in Attack Mode," Mahdi said and a menacing Level 4 monster with sharp claws on its arms appeared. Its attack was at 1600 points and defence at 1200 points.

Then, all of a sudden, he looked back at her and lighted with a smile. "Tell me...how is your friend Crow doing right now?"

"What?" Aki stared at him, taken aback by his question.

"I'm just curious. Did he suffer? Is he in some pain after what happened?" Mahdi continued asking nonchalantly.

Aki flinched at his horrible words. "Go to hell," she answered under her breath, feeling disturbed.

"I hope he suffered," he went on, still smiling with that self-satisfied smirk, "And I hope that he feels much more pain in the future. After all, it's only fair after what you caused to happen to me. Anyway, Makyura the Destructor, attack her Violet Witch!" he ordered and watched as his monster went for an attack.

Even though Aki was beyond distressed by what he'd just said she did not lose her concentration with the duel. "I activate my Trap card, Rose Blizzard," she interrupted and opened her face down card, "When a monster I control is selected as an attack target, I can switch the attacking monster to Defence Mode. So Makyura the Destructor can no longer attack."

"Okay, then I set two cards face down and end my turn," Mahdi concluded and stifled a yawn.

[Mahdi]

[**End of Turn One**: Makyura the Destructor (Lvl.4) ATK1600/DEF1200 in Defence mode; 2 Cards on Field; 3 Cards in hand; LP4000]

"My turn," Aki announced and drew her card, feeling hatred boiling inside of her. She couldn't wait for this duel to be over and she knew she could do it once her Black Rose Dragon was out. She only wished that he wouldn't provoke her further or else she'd begin losing some control on her powers and he'd be sure to regret it.

But...at the same time, didn't he actually deserve getting hurt?

[Aki Izayoi]

[**Beginning of Turn Two**: Violet Witch (Lvl.4) ATK1100/DEF1200 in Defence mode; 0 Cards on Field; 5 Cards in hand; LP4000]

Aki looked at the cards in her hand, deliberating on a decision and trying to calm her intense feelings of hostility, when Mahdi spoke to her again.

"So you really are one of those Signers, aren't you?" he questioned her.

_Well, obviously, _Aki thought, _Why is he asking me what he already knows?_ She nodded, rigidly.

Mahdi looked away with a thoughtful expression on his face. "You're the third person out of the six of you to come after me. Which is good: not only does it mean that I was right coming after you special and heroic snowflakes to begin with...but it also means you're narrowing down my search."

Aki swallowed in a throat suddenly dry. "What?" she asked. What did he just say? What search?

"Nothing, don't worry about it. Carry on with your turn," he answered and returned his gaze to her. Then, abruptly, he smiled at her with a slow and intimate smile as if they were lovers who had just spent the afternoon in bed together.

Suppressing her feelings of abrupt worry and disgust, Aki concentrated on the duel because the sooner this was done the better and then she could question him about everything. He had two face down cards and one of them could have been Discord, the trap card that prevented Synchro Summoning. Aki decided that she would clean his field first before attempting at Synchro Summoning and missing her turn in case he blocks her with that cursed card.

"I play a Magic card, Heavy Storm!" Aki announced and activated the card. It was a very useful Spell that she knew she should probably save up but she wanted this done and over with. "Heavy Storm destroys all Magic and Trap cards on the field. Which just means yours, Mahdi," she said and watched as a heavy tornado swept away her opponent's cards into oblivion. For a split second in time she saw, pleased, that one of his Trap cards turned out to be Discord and another was an unknown one.

Even though Aki wasn't deliberately trying to materialize the effect of her Magic card, the Solid Vision of the tornado still blew the heavy wind from which Mahdi had to shield himself. It seemed like, since he provoked her, her emotions were now getting the best of her...and Aki realized that it wasn't a bad thing. She felt some satisfaction in making him witness her powers.

"And now," she went on, "I-"

Mahdi suddenly broke out into laughter. "Well done," he complimented her and one of his destroyed Trap cards appeared out of his Graveyard, "When this Trap, Kozaky's Self-Destruct Button, is destroyed, 1000 points of damage are inflicted to the Life Points of the player who destroyed it."

Aki frowned and stood, unmoving, as 1000 Life Points were drained away from her. This left her at 3000 now.

"Frustrated?" Mahdi inquired, looking very pleased with his disruption.

"Not in the least," Aki muttered, "You've got only one monster and no other cards to defend you. So I summon Twilight Rose Knight to Attack Mode." A Tuner monster (Level 3) in a form of a small knight made an appearance, its attack and defence points both at 1000.

Mahdi was watching her with a blank expression on his face.

"And now I tune my Level 3 Twilight Rose Knight to my Level 4 Violet Witch," Aki announced and began chanting, "Chilling flames engulf the entire world. Pitch-dark flower, set into bloom! Synchro Summon! Appear now, Black Rose Dragon!"

As a stunning Level 7 rose-like dragon materialized, its attack at 2400 points and defence at 1800, Aki smiled because luck seemed to be on her side now. The appearance of her dragon sent genuine gushes of wind in every direction.

"And now, Black Rose Dragon, destroy his Makyura the Destructor!" she ordered and her stunning dragon charged into the attack, annihilating Mahdi's monster into nothingness. This time she relaxed and no longer withheld her power: Mahdi told her that he wanted Crow to have suffered...and so now he'd experience the taste of his own medicine.

The broken monster shards of Solid Vision flew towards Mahdi and he quickly had to cover his face from their impact lest he gets serious damage. "Amazing...just amazing..." Mahdi mumbled under his breath as he lowered his now slightly bruised-up arms.

Aki found herself feeling rather content both with the psychic phenomenon and the situation. She felt like she had this duel to her complete advantage: he no longer had any monsters or cards on his field and she had her ace monster shining on her side.

"So finally-" she began carrying on with her turn when Mahdi interrupted her with another rather harsh laugh.

"What's so funny?" Aki inquired in anger. The metallic Arcadia pin in her hair was now vibrating lightly, threatening to break away. Aki could inhibit her powers just fine without the pin's support but if she was _pushed_ that far she could go completely ballistic, if needed.

"You've just done such a favour for me," Mahdi explained the source of his amusement, "During the turn Maryura the Destructor is sent to the Graveyard, I can activate a Trap card from my hand this turn. So I choose..." he looked thoughtfully at his hand, chuckled, and showed her one of the cards, "Meteor Flare. When my opponent has 3000 or more Life Points, I can inflict 2000 points of direct damage by discarding two cards from my hand."

As Mahdi sent the remainder of his hand to the Graveyard, Aki felt dismayed: additional 2000 Life Points were depleted from her, leaving her at measly 1000. "In that case, I'll set one card face down and end my turn," she quickly concluded, fighting off her panic. She had made a daring move and attacked him only to have 3000 of her own Life Points lost and none of his as a result. _Concentrate, just concentrate_, she told herself firmly.

[Aki Izayoi]

[**End of Turn Two**: Black Rose Dragon (Lvl. 7) ATK2400/DEF1800 in Attack mode; 1 Card on Field; 2 Cards in hand; LP1000]

"Just how I wish I was a psychic duellist," Mahdi suddenly said.

"What?" Aki asked, startled by his comment.

"Why do you act so surprised?" he raised his eyebrows, "Didn't you see what you can do? It's such a great power...It would make so many matters simpler. You're _so_ lucky to have it."

"You're insane," was Aki's reply. It would probably work for him if he used it for his own wicked purposes and it sickened her. And he obviously could never understand how horrible this power was, how much it hindered her and just how much it ruined her life until Yusei came along and saved her.

"Perhaps," Mahdi slowly smiled at her, "Doesn't change the fact, though. You should do it _more_. Try not to lose the duel _yet_, I want to see you do more."

Aki had to draw in a deep breath to control her outrage with his taunting. It wasn't like she was planning to lose this duel, especially not with the terrible risks and conditions they set. She simply would _not_ lose.

"I can also tell that you're holding back from unleashing your whole power," Mahdi added as he placed his hand on his deck of cards, preparing to declare his turn.

"You know nothing," Aki mumbled even though he was right. She decided then that on her next turn she would show him the full extent of her power. He wanted to see it but she'll make him regret ever asking for it.

"You'll see," he said with a smirk, "My turn!"

[Mahdi]

[**Beginning of Turn Two**: 0 Monsters; 0 Cards on Field; 1 Card in hand; LP4000]

"Hmm, let's see," he hummed as he looked at the only card in his hand. But then, instead of making a decision, he looked back at her with another enigmatic smile, "Izayoi Aki...do you want me to tell you a little something interesting that I know about you?"

Aki felt a jolt of fear pass her but she instantly suppressed it. _He's bluffing, _she convinced herself. "No thanks," she dismissed him, "Carry on with your turn."

"Considering you wanted to ask me some questions at the end, I'm doing you a favour right now," Mahdi pointed out with amusement, "Perhaps you should take advantage of this. You never know what you could learn."

Aki gulped a knot in her throat. She wanted to resist, knowing that he might be baiting her, but morbid curiosity still took the best of her. "Fine," she gave up, "What is it?"

"You see, the time you interrupted my duel with Hogan Crow was my first encounter with a psychic duellist. I mean, I heard about you guys before but there was never any reason for me to delve into this topic of interest," he said and then sighed, "But this time it was personal. I was curious. So I did some pretty thorough research on psychic duellists and found so many interesting things. So many different coincidences...hypotheses."

Aki pursed her lips as she listened to him. This was ridiculous. He was wasting her time and she never should have agreed to hear any of it: she knew more about psychic duels than anyone, being that it had always been a large part of her life. There was nothing he could tell her that she wouldn't already know.

"Am I boring you?" he inquired, as if reading her mind, "Then perhaps you already know _why_ some people are capable of psychic duelling and some aren't, right? You know _exactly_ why it happens and about the abrupt appearance of this phenomenon?"

Aki flinched and stared at him, suddenly feeling dumbfounded.

"Ah yes," he smiled, "I take it that you don't. I'm sure you wondered, besides the source of your own abilities, why it is that psychic duelling did not exist until pretty recently, right?"

The thought occurred to Aki a few times but she had never really delved into it. Divine always described it as a very special gift that only the most fortunate possessed. And she, herself, always maintained that it was a curse since it basically ruined most of her life.

"You never wondered?" Mahdi seemed surprised, masterfully reading through her silence, "The answer is so obvious, though. Of course it has everything to do with Momentum energy source."

"Momentum…?" Aki whispered, feeling something beginning to sink inside of her.

"Oh indeed, the very invention that had already changed so much...but also _impacted_ so many more things than realized just yet," he confirmed.

Aki felt a hollow feeling suddenly suffocating her. So, according to him, not only did Momentum bring about Zero Reverse, which killed innumerable people and ruined countless lives... and then the conflict with future-changing Arc Cradle which almost caused Yusei to die... but it also gave her the psychic powers that she dreaded so much? She suddenly began wondering if Yusei knew anything about this...and, in case he didn't, if he should ever find out. Would she ever want him to feel any additional guilt over Zero Reverse especially since he always consoled her when she suffered over her power?

But maybe Mahdi was lying. Maybe none of what he was saying was true. "So how _did _Momentum impact psychic duelling?" she asked, needing to hear more of what he knows before she could accept it.

"You know, of course, that the Momentum consists of M-gamma rays: at 399 nanometres M-gamma rays are borderline invisible to the human eye. The thing is, the M-gamma rays' short wavelength frequency interacts in various interesting ways with human brainwaves. So the moment Momentum had activated for the first time a little over twenty years ago, it emitted with itself an energy which caused some of these interesting reactions," he said.

That scientific breakdown began frightening her – it all sounded so simple and completely devoid of any mysticism she was used to. "And yet why did Momentum energy affect some individuals and not others? How did it give psychic abilities?" she questioned quietly.

"It's all in the capacity and potential," Mahdi said, "I found out that the research conducted by the late Arcadia Organization shows that psychic duellists have a higher neural brain connectivity in the cerebral cortex and the occipital lobes, compared to 'normal' people. Thus, the radiation of the Momentum affected the people with that higher neural potential and not others. It's a form of _mutation_ then but, personally, I think it should be called…" he paused and smiled, "Evolution."

Aki felt a dizzying wave of nausea after his mention of Arcadia. It always came back to Arcadia, to Divine...to how he hid everything from her, to how he used her. "How does that make any sense?" she asked, still holding on to some doubt and somehow hoping that what he was saying wasn't true. _A radiation...a mutation_? she thought in revulsion.

"Well think about it in this way," Mahdi went on explaining, "Think about Solid Vision: it is basically a hologram and a hologram is an advanced projection of light. All visible light as humans perceive it are wavelengths between 400 and 700 nanometres. So the concentration of psychic brainwaves as interlaced with Momentum energy consists of the ability to pick up on the wavelengths of Solid Vision and manipulate them as they see fit, including the more rare ability for materialization. It looks quite interesting on the neural level too – kind of like a helix of intertwined rays."

Aki had to avert her gaze to the ground, feeling sick. She couldn't believe that he had just revealed to her the very process and foundation of her power…her curse. The very thing she had always tried to understand and which, apparently, Arcadia somewhat figured out but Divine never bothered revealing to her. She felt tainted and disgusting, like there was always something fundamentally wrong with her...and there _was_ because apparently there was something different in her brain.

At the same time it suddenly made sense why her psychic powers had gone away during the times of WRPG and the Arc Cradle – that was when the largest Momentum source was going through some instability.

But some things still didn't make sense: the few rare times she was capable of healing minor wounds with her powers and the fact that her own emotions always played a big part in her abilities. Emotional stability allowed her to concentrate and to control her power and none of this seemed to have much to do with Mahdi's structural breakdown.

"Mahdi, why are you telling me all this? What's the point?" she finally asked. He claimed to know something about her...but all this was general information and not _particularly_ about her, no matter how important and shocking.

"I'm telling you all of this because it's all about _that _potential!" he answered, repeating his case in point, "I wish I had such your ability but, unfortunately, it is impossible. But you, _you_, on the other hand, do it so easily and effortlessly! And do you know something else? The potential of the psychic power is related to impulse control: this is why some people are better and stronger at this – like you – and others fall far behind."

Aki gasped, understanding that he had just answered the correlation between her emotional control and her power.

"So...I told you all of this because it basically comes down to this: I think you have an untapped potential. I think you can be so much stronger and do so much more," he responded, "So show me what you've got because you've _definitely _tapped my curiosity."

Aki gritted her teeth. She wanted to hurt him, sure...but apparently he _wanted_ to feel pain to satisfy some interest. This was both creepy and ridiculous.

"Okay, I think I've said enough," Mahdi looked back to the only card he was holding in his hand. He glared at it thoughtfully for a few more seconds before he shrugged.

"I end my turn," he announced.

[Mahdi]

[**End of Turn Two**: 0 Monsters; 0 Cards on Field; 1 Card in hand; LP4000]

Aki felt vines of shock enveloping her. "You have an open field?" she asked in disbelief, "No monsters or cards to protect you? What are you trying to do, Mahdi?"

"Maybe I just haven't drawn what I want yet...I _do_ have one card after all," he answered and then slowly smiled at her, "Or maybe...maybe I just want to see what you can do, Izayoi Aki. So give me your best shot."

She bit her bottom lip, torn with indecision. "Shut up," was the only thing she could say, under her breath, and drew her card.

[Aki Izayoi]

[**Beginning of Turn Three**: Black Rose Dragon (Lvl. 7) ATK2400/DEF1800 in Attack mode; 1 Card on Field; 3 Cards in hand; LP1000]

_What should I do_? Aki was thinking, _Should I refuse to do what he wants? Is this all just a trap? _

On his side of the field, Mahdi stretched and slowly cracked his neck.

_Or do I go all out and make him beg for mercy?_ Aki continued wondering,_ Should I make him feel pain for ever hurting Crow? Should I weaken him before the end of the duel and make him more prone to answering my questions? _

"What's there to think?" he called out to her, "I'm giving you a free shot. Can you deplete 4000 Life Points in one turn? Or will you pass out on a golden opportunity?"

Aki looked at the cards she held and then back up at him. She had decided. "You've made a big mistake, Mahdi. You'll regret doing this and not having anything to protect you," she threatened him. He was provoking her but she no longer cared.

"I sure hope so," he shot back, appearing infuriatingly amused, "Do your best, would you?"

"No mercy," Aki whispered to herself as she removed the metallic Arcadia pin form her hair, "No mercy." She returned her gaze back to her cards, calculating her strategy. She realized that if only she had drawn "Wonder Clover" Magic card then she could have simply chosen her Black Rose Dragon to attack twice. And then it'd be all over and she could return to Yusei.

If only. But she would do as much as she could without Wonder Clover.

"I will play my Thorns of Hatred magic," she said and activated a green card on her duel disk, "I can equip it to Black Rose Dragon so it could gain extra 600 attack points." A thorned green vine framed around her monster and the dragon screeched as its attack points went up to 3000, sending a gust of wind around the parking lot.

Mahdi shielded his face from the shockwave but remained standing. "Scary," he commented with that same smirk.

"And then I will summon Woodland Sprite in Attack position," Aki went on, trying to control the feelings of agitation and anger in her voice as he kept her insides boiling with loathing. A small green fairy (Level 3) appeared on her side of the field, its attack points at 900 and its defence points at 400. She had only one card left in her hand now but it was a Level 5 monster she couldn't summon.

"Here we go," Mahdi remarked and planted his feet firmly as if preparing himself.

"First, Black Rose Dragon, attack him directly!" Aki exclaimed and concentrated on her dragon. She watched as the majestic monster released a piercing screech and sent a powerful attack blow at her opponent.

Mahdi clenched his teeth and shielded his face with his arms but the sheer force of Black Rose Dragon's attack sent him flying back as if he was a rag doll. He hit the invisible barrier of the _Sutekh Sacrificō_ seal and fell face down into the ground, now motionless.

Aki stood there, breathing heavily with the adrenaline rush of the materialized strike, finding in herself some satisfaction that he had suffered. She wasn't going to hurt him lethally, of course, but anything to get him to swallow his laughing; to show him that she was stronger than he could ever imagine and to get him to shut up.

Mahdi didn't remain immobile for too long. Seconds later, he twitched and began scrambling back up to his feet. He looked rumpled with some light bleeding cuts on his face and the black oversized hoodie he wore might have been concealing the bruises on his torso. Nonetheless he seemed completely unfazed by his injuries and laughed with delight. "That was fantastic," he told her as he slowly walked back to where he originally stood, "_This_ is what I'm talking about!" His Life Points went down to 1000 now, equalling hers.

Aki felt frustration overwhelming her. "Shut your mouth..." she mumbled under her breath, giving him a serious warning. Her Black Rose Dragon fed on her fury and let out another inhumane screech, flapping its wings and sending powerful rushes of airstream. Various junk and scrap metal – scattered all over the parking lot – was now sent flying in different directions and Aki actually wished that one of the especially heavy garbage parts could hit her enemy.

Mahdi managed to avoid some debris with surprising agility and remained standing in his spot, looking entertained. "Go on," he urged her.

Aki wanted nothing more than to wipe the ugly smile off his face. Breathing heavily, she pointed in his direction and shouted, "And now, Woodland Sprite, attack him directly!"

Mahdi continued standing in his spot with that same disturbingly joyous expression and unwaveringly covered his face as Woodland Sprite charged at him. Unlike the distant power blows of the Black Rose Dragon, the small plant monster physically smashed into him and the actual impact once again threw him back. He slammed against the impenetrable seal boundaries and then dropped to the ground.

And then, instantly this time, he stood back up to his feet even though he was noticeably shaking from the harsh collision. "Magnificent...just magnificent. Did you see what you just did?" he asked her while staring at her with that same ecstatic expression. His Life Points decreased to meager 100.

"Shut up!" Aki screamed, now completely overtaken by rage and frustration. Bitter and unimaginable loathing pumped black through her veins. He sounded like Divine...so, so much like Divine. That same sweetly tone, that same admiration and acidic awe of her. At that point she wanted nothing more than to destroy him, to simply annihilate him into nothingness.

"What power...what elegance," Mahdi continued appreciating her, unbothered by the fact that she basically had a violent vortex of air surrounding her, threatening to blast him to oblivion, "You _are _magnificent, Izayoi Aki. And what a pity it is that I'll have to put an end to you... to such being with _such _potential."

"I'll...make you...swallow your words," Aki managed to say between her ragged gasps, "You will lose."

"Unless you have another attack up your sleeve, I think I still have a turn, don't I?" he asked her, raising his eyebrows, "So do you? Do you have the means to deplete my remaining points?"

In a sudden moment of clarity Aki looked down at the only card in her hand and realized that this was all she could do. _God damn it...damn it..._ she thought in agitation, biting her lips. He was right, she couldn't do anything else...but it didn't matter. She was still in the lead by 900. She had two monsters, including her ace, out on the field and he had none. And she also had an additional trap to protect her. Thus, on her next turn it would be over before he'd have a chance to do anything.

"I..." Aki drew in a deep breath, trying to calm herself. Slowly, she began feeling exhaustion catching up to her... she realized that she was emotionally and mentally drained after she had done so much psychic manifestation, after she tried going so far. After all, it had been a long time since she had been pushed to the edge like this and an impossibly long time since she had practiced for such powerful psychic extent. "I...end my turn," she finished.

[Aki Izayoi]

[**End of Turn Three**: Black Rose Dragon (Lvl.7) ATK3000/DEF1800 (Equipped with Thorn Malice) in Attack mode; Woodland Sprite (Lvl.3) ATK900/DEF400 in Attack mode; 1 Card on Field; 1 Card in hand; LP1000]

Mahdi let out a profound sigh. "Too bad it had to end like this," he said, sounding almost...unhappy.

"Just make your turn," Aki hissed.

"I'm disappointed, I have to say," he continued his taunting, "You still held back. You could have done so much more. And now this has to end without you showing me what I think you're actually capable of."

"Shut up..." Aki whispered as she pressed her hands to her temples and closed her eyes, telling herself to calm down. Her long hair fluttered around her in a red cascade as the jets of wind exuded from her Black Rose Dragon. "Just shut up..."

"My turn," Mahdi smiled at her and drew a card.

[Mahdi]

[**Beginning of Turn Three**: 0 Monsters; 0 Cards on Field; 2 Cards in hand; LP100]

Mahdi looked at the new card in his hand and let out another sigh. "This was good while it lasted," he commented, fixing his pitch black eyes on her again.

Aki bit down on her bottom lip, deciding that regardless of her anger she would simply no longer acknowledge him with an answer. He was provoking her, that's all he was doing and that's all he wanted from her for his own disturbing masochistic enjoyment. She never should have let it out of her control and she should have resisted his bait. But at least he felt some pain...that was her consolation.

"And didn't I tell you about impulse control? That it's a big deciding factor in variation of your abilities?" Mahdi asked, "You saw what a big difference it made, didn't you? The uncontrollable impulse of emotions?"

Aki said nothing.

"Stunning," he sighed again, "And I mean it so it's just too bad _this_ has to happen. So for starters, I will play a Magic card - Card of Demise. It allows me to draw cards until I have five in my hand." He played the card he's held in his hand since his previous turn and casually drew four additional cards from his deck while Card of Demise disappeared into his Graveyard.

Aki realized that he could have played Card of Demise from the beginning and had drawn more cards all along...and so he had truly skipped his turn on purpose. To test her and to taunt her. Aki forced herself to keep taking deep and controlled breaths, still concentrating on diminishing her power a bit.

"It wasn't really necessary for me to do that," he said, referring to his card-gathering Magic, "But I thought I'd make things at least _somewhat_ fair."

_Fair_? Aki thought in outrage, _Is that what he just said? He's trying to make things _fair_?_

"And then I will play another very special Magic card. Hinotama!" he declared and activated it on the duel disk.

Aki looked up as the night sky parted and a fireball began rapidly tumbling down towards. As the violent Magic effect slammed into her, Aki remained completely still and unaffected by the Solid Vision. But as the direct attack Hinotama drained 500 Life Points from her, she frowned and involuntarily thought about how bad this card could be if it were ever used by a psychic duellist. The physical impact of it could be agonizing.

"I'm not done," Mahdi snickered, "Here is another Magic card – it's called Tribute Burial."

Aki then suddenly understood his duel deck type and his strategy. He was nothing like Jack who would assemble the most powerful monsters in his deck and find the means of summoning them; and he was nothing like Yusei who would early and strategically build up to a victory using simple but structured means, preferring Synchro monsters and traps above all. It seemed like Mahdi was more like _her_ in using Magic cards in achieving his means. Except that, while for her the Magic cards actively aided her in summoning and then protecting her Black Rose Dragon, Mahdi saturated his duel deck with destructive Magic cards in order to help him inflict additional damage to his opponent here and there. He was sneaky and passive.

"Tribute Burial activates," Mahdi went on with his turn, "By removing from play one monster from each of our Graveyards, I can Summon a Level 5 or higher monster from my hand without Tribute. So I remove from play my Makyura the Destructor and your Violet Witch to summon a fantastic representation of power like no other – La Magra!"

The ground beneath them began quaking as a colossal shadow appeared on his side of the field. It hissed and whispered as it smoothly and continuously flowed like blood water before scattering into dark fog and then solidifying into an indistinguishable shape. Its attack and defence points were both at 3000.

Aki felt fear threatening to take over her as she looked upon the horrible monster but she fought against that incapacitating emotion. She had nothing to be afraid of. She still had the way of defending herself and winning this duel.

"A beauty..." Mahdi whispered, watching La Magra with captivation and, what seemed like, _pride_, "And, lastly, I will set my final card face down on the field and begin to put an end to all this."

Aki looked back from La Magra to her Black Rose Dragon equipped with Thorns of Hatred, knowing that both monsters were equally matched in attack. So then he would obviously attack her weaker Woodland Sprite and thus deduct her remaining 500 Life Points. But it was okay and she was prepared: she had a trap card – Negate Attack – which would negate the attack of La Magra and end the Battle Phase, giving her time to recuperate for her next turn.

"What do I want to do..." Mahdi thoughtfully deliberated, as if purposefully dragging something that was obvious. "Alright, here goes," he finally decided and...pointed to her Black Rose Dragon, "La Magra, attack that hideous screeching bird."

"What?" Aki gasped in shock. Both of those monsters were matched and they would both be destroyed! Why would he want to self-destruct his own monster unless – she quickly looked to the hidden trap card on his field – _unless_ he had some kind of a trap that would accumulate extra damage after an attack.

Just as she had figured out his possible plan the claw birthmark of the Crimson Dragon lit up bright red on her forearm and begun steadily pulsating. _Nani? _Aki stared at it in confusion, _What's going on? Why is it active now_? At that very instant her heart sank: if she was feeling this then so were the other five Signers...including Yusei. He'd see she was gone now and the Signer mark could lead him to her.

La Magra seeped into the ground and then reappeared in front of her Black Rose Dragon, extending its shadowy tendrils to swallow it up.

Aki panicked, shaken from her thoughts. "Stop!" she exclaimed and activated her face down card, "Trap card open! I activate Negate Attack – when my opponent's monster declares an attack I can negate it and end the Battle Phase." She decided to use her trap now and end this before, she predicted, he'd have a chance to use his trap after the turn. He wouldn't destroy his own monster without a reason, right?

The mark of the Crimson Dragon suddenly began pulsating with higher intensity and Aki grabbed onto her arm. _Why are you doing this now? _ she questioned the Crimson Dragon, _Am I...in danger? Are you trying to warn me and my friends? Is this why you lit up during Crow's duel with Mahdi...because something is wrong? Something is dangerous? _

La Magra stopped with the activation of Negate Attack and began retreating to Mahdi's side of the field.

A satisfied smile appeared on his face. "If that's the case then I'll activate my Riryoku Field Counter-trap card!" he announced and flipped up that single card on his field, "I can negate the activation of a card that targets one of my monsters and then destroy it." Aki's Negate Attack shattered into pieces of Solid Vision before Mahdi ordered, "So please, carry on with your attack, La Magra."

_What is he doing? _Aki was frantically thinking. And then a chilling realization abruptly donned on her. She had a Trap that would have negated his attack at her Woodland Sprite if he had chosen to attack it instead but...his Counter-trap would have still enabled that attack to go through. She would have _lost_ the duel right then and there if he had only attacked the obvious weak monster...but he still chose to go after Black Rose Dragon.

"What are you trying to do, Mahdi?" she shouted at him as La Magra re-appeared next to her dragon and began enveloping it. Aki's heart clenched painfully in her chest when her dragon let out a cry before it completely drowned in La Magra's bleeding shadow, "They're equal and you're destroying them both without avail!"

Mahdi said nothing and simply watched as the strokes of light broke out within the darkness of the fog and then an explosion occurred as both monsters self-destructed, sending powerful shockwaves throughout the parking lot. Mahdi lost his balance and had to scramble back up while Aki tried to keep her tears from escaping after the horrible fate her Black Rose Dragon suffered. As if adding more insult to her injury the Signer birthmark began _burning_ now with increasing intensity and Aki groaned in pain, clutching desperately to it. _What is it? What are you trying to warn me of?_ she continued pondering as thoughts raced in her head,_ He has nothing left on his field and I still have a monster! Why are you calling others? _

"Phew, that was intense," Mahdi mumbled as he regained his composure and smoothed his rumpled clothing, "And now..._at last_...for my grand finale, I'll activate La Magra's special effect!"

"What are you talking about? What special effect?" Aki asked while still cringing from the aching pain in her arm. She only knew from Yusei's duel with the boy named Takashi that one of La Magra's effects enabled it to possess all of the Monster attributes, so Dark, Light, Water, Earth, Fire and Wind, all in one. But she had no idea that it had another and, if it did, then why this was the first time that she had ever witnessed it.

"A special effect that only the _original_ La Magra possesses, not any of the duplicates," Mahdi explained with a wide smile, "Up until now you've faced pitiful copies of this monster. Consider it your honour that you're facing the _true _one now. The one and only."

_What's happening? How does he have the original and why? _Aki was thinking hysterically while clinging to her arm but now bending over nearly in half as it throbbed now almost delibitatingly painful. Quickly a chilling sensation suddenly began framing about her and she felt like she was slowly being dunked under ice cold water...almost as if in slow motion... Somehow...she suddenly had a feeling that it didn't matter why Mahdi had the original or not... She just knew that it no longer mattered... A sudden feeling of almost precognition, probably bestowed on her by the Crimson Dragon...because of what was sure to come next.

"When La Magra is destroyed – and if I, of course, still have remaining Life Points – I can select one Magic card from either my deck or Graveyard and play it," Mahdi elaborated, looking pleased and ignorant of the horrible turmoil swelling inside of her.

"Oh...no...no..." Aki whispered in complete realization. _He...played me...there was no way for me to win...and so he simply toyed with me... _she thought in numbing horror, feeling a cold and slithering feeling form deep in the pit of her stomach, forming an unspeakable void.

"Ah..." Mahdi sighed as he looked down at his duel disk, "So many to choose from! I think I'll pick my personal favourite...that is, Hinotama." A green card appeared out of his Graveyard slot upon command and he activated it. He then slowly raised his eyes back to her and smiled with that same enigmatic and all-knowing smile, "I did say it was going to be over, Izayoi Aki, didn't I?"

"It...can't be..." she whispered, looking up as a fireball appeared out of the skies and plunged towards her, "It...can't..." _Crimson Dragon, is that why you didn't light up when I was fighting any of my other blood-duels?_ she thought about her agonizing birthmark, _Because, no matter how dire the situation was, you just knew that I had the means of winning? And...is that why you're burning now, warning me and my friends? Because I...lost...? _

The Hinotama fireball slammed into her and Aki collapsed to her knees as her Life Points depleted to zero.

[**Winner**: Mahdi]

What...did...this mean? Did this mean that this...was the end?

"I...lost...?" Aki whispered inaudibly as she sat on her knees and looked at the gray asphalt of the ground. She was still holding to her throbbing Signer mark, feeling her eyes dry but burning with unstoppable pain. _Is it over...? Am I...dying? _she thought in numbness.

"I heard somewhere that _death_ is considered to be the road to awe," Mahdi said as he neared her and Aki made an attempt to look up at him but for some reason she couldn't. She could only see his dirtied round-toe shoes in her field of vision. _Papa...mama...all my friends...if this is it, if this is the end, then I never got a chance to say goodbye_, she was thinking, _And Yusei...Yusei...I never told you how I really felt for you. And I've let you down...I've let you down so bad...please forgive me._

"Will you let me know how that goes?" Mahdi asked her and snickered.

Aki made another attempt to look at him but understood then that she was paralyzed from the neck down. It was probably the way to keep the losers of the blood duel from simply running away. She was entirely frozen in her position and could only move her eyes and keep clinging to her terribly burning arm, feeling as if her flesh was peeling off. _If there is a way out of this then Crimson Dragon...I need your help now before it could become too late_, she was thinking, _My friends may not get here on time. If there is a possibility then I beg you to give it to me, to help me. _

Mahdi crouched in front of her and grabbed her chin, tilting it so Aki had no chance but to stare at him. His hand was large, rough and frozen cold, sending additional jolts of fear to the centre of her already terrified heart. She wanted nothing else but to run away from him and so she struggled to pull away from him but her body refused her.

"Are you listening to what I'm saying?" he inquired with a content smirk, "You can talk, you know."

"Go to hell," Aki instantly answered, still cringing from her Signer birthmark.

But instead of replying to her in a way she expected him to – either by taunting her or by physically hitting her – Mahdi remained strangely silent. He simply continued staring at her very attentively and his amusement had vanished without a trace.

Aki felt sickened for looking at those pitch-dark eyes and simply averted her eyes from his when he suddenly shouted, "No, keep looking at me!" and again jerked her chin to him causing her to stare at him with alarmed terror. What was it that he wanted with her? How long until either her friends get here or the Crimson Dragon tries to save her?

"Your eyes...they're so peculiar and distinctive," Mahdi muttered, looking concerned.

Aki felt disturbed both by the arbitrariness and oddity of his claim. She had no idea of his sudden fascination with her eyes. She never thought of them as anything but ordinary.

"I _know _them," Mahdi said, narrowing his own eyes, "Yes...I do. I know them!"

"You're a madman," Aki whispered in horror and diverted her eyes just to have her whole face yanked to him again.

"What the fuck? Do you know_ who_ you are?" he suddenly demanded, "Is that why you're here? Is that _why _you've come after me?"

"What?" Aki gaped at him wide-eyed. She had no idea what he was asking or what was going on. _Crimson Dragon...my friends...I trust you_, she was thinking.

And then Mahdi simply smiled. Slowly, knowingly and inexplicably.

"You...don't know anything, do you?" he asked and, without waiting for her reply, suddenly ran his fingers through her hair. That simple action caused Aki to begin shivering in disgust.

"Pretty...pretty eyes," he said and sighed dreamily, now caressing her face, "So pretty. You know what? I think that before letting you die I'll _play_ with you for awhile," he whispered suggestively, "You might enjoy it too but it won't make any difference for me."

Revulsion and fear became almost too much for Aki to bear and she barely prevented herself from gagging both at his horrible suggestion and his revolting freezing touch. In addition to that, her birthmark was throbbing with such excruciating pain now that it was inhumane effort for her to keep from screaming. Nonetheless, somewhere in the back of her head she found some calm and comfort because she had a feeling that, should any of this go _any_ further, the Crimson Dragon would finally appear in its celestial form to save her if her friends weren't any closer. "Don't...touch me," she told him through gritted teeth.

"What is _that_ supposed to do in this situation?" Mahdi abruptly asked and gestured to her right forearm, completely redirecting the topic, "The mark of the Crimson Dragon. I've done enough of research on the six of you to know what it can do. So what? Is it going to let you pull some farfetched Synchro cards to save you? Would it save you outside of the duels...save you from me and what I have in mind for you?" He chuckled in amusement.

Aki's stomach churned in revulsion. Still, she maintained her calm.

"It will save me," she told him determinedly, "It is capable of physically coming to my rescue should you go further. Choose your actions wisely, Mahdi. It may be in your best interest to let me go right now."

"I'm terrified," Mahdi responded uncaringly while his eyes travelled down to her cleavage, "And does your Signer mark also call your friends to the rescue?"

"Yes, it does. They will get here soon and you have no idea the trouble you're going to be in," Aki responded, trying to suppress her shaking.

Mahdi paused and locked his eyes on hers again. He seemed lost in his thought for a few more seconds before he abruptly asked, "And are you also calling him? _Yusei_, was it?"

_What's with these strange questions_? Aki wondered. "Yes..." she responded but hesitantly at this point.

Mahdi's smile suddenly grew wider and he began laughing, sending goosebumps down her spine. She understood that she was right to suspect that something was wrong because it was. Something was very wrong.

"Good..." he whispered, "Bring him to me."

"What?" Aki asked, feeling intense panic.

"You're more useful than I thought, Izayoi Aki," Mahdi said, "You're bringing him to me. You gave _him_ out. And so I thank you."

"W-what?" was the only thing Aki could stutter, her voice practically nonexistent.

Mahdi stood up to his feet and looked down at her with a smile, "Now I know exactly what to do and you've helped me. All this time I was looking for him...and now I think I've finally found him. Thank you."

Aki winced, feeling something breaking inside of her and sensed like she was about to suffocate. _I gave...Yusei out? Crow said that Mahdi was looking for the owner of the Sky Dragon of Osiris...and I had just somehow given Yusei out? I...put Yusei in danger? _Aki thought in unspeakable horror, _I came here to save him, to ease the weight off his shoulders, and instead I...helped the enemy?_

"Even gods have their ignorance!" Mahdi was laughing now, uncaring for her response, "He was under my nose all this time and I didn't actually realize it until you've come along! And I probably would have missed him had I waited to duel him properly tonight!"

Aki couldn't comprehend anything Mahdi was saying but she understood that she could only do one thing right now. _If you truly wish to help me now then you must release me_, she began begging the Crimson Dragon, _Stop the Signer bond. My friends must no longer know where I am. Please, you have to help me. Release me! _

"I can't believe it!" Mahdi went on, appearing to be in his own world, "This is just too good to be true! And now...after helping me find him, Izayoi Aki, you will also help me to do something special. Something _really _special."

_Release me, please! Stop the Signer bond! Don't lead Yusei to me, please!_ Aki was pleading in her mind as tears filled her eyes. _This is the best way and so I beg of you! _she thought, _You have to do it now! Please! _she nearly screamed outloud and...finally her insistently burning Signer birthmark stopped hurting. A millisecond later, the red glow of it disappeared completely.

Mahdi didn't seem to notice anything (or maybe he simply didn't care) and sighed happily, crouching in front of her again. His long freezing fingers found her chin once more and he forced her to look at him.

"Don't worry, Izayoi Aki," he said gently as if actually trying to console her, "I shall permit you a somewhat painless death once I am done with my plan. For I am merciful."

Hot uncontrollable tears now streamed down her face.

"But first..." Mahdi reached out and, mesmerized, touched her tearstained cheek, "First, you will help me kill Fudo Yusei."

Aki's lips parted and she let out a sobbing scream.

* * *

_Cliffhanger!_

_Yeah, things are going to be kind of bad now for our protagonists. Let's hope they pull through!  
_

_So stay tuned for more depressing things and for some questions answered! _

_PS: I completely made up that scientific part about Aki's powers. The anime never really explained the source of them - aside from the emotional connection - and I figured that adding a connection to Momentum could create some possible angst for future chapters.  
_


	20. Chapter 19: Steps towards the end

_Author's Note:_

_This is Chapter 19 of "The Kingdom [be]Comes"._

_Here we find out what happened to Aki and finally see Yusei. In fact, this is a very Yusei-oriented chapter._

_I also felt like I was quite sadistic writing this and felt really bad for characters. So beware, it's kind of dark. _

_As always, thank you for all your reviews and personal messages! Always so nice to hear what people think, be it praise or criticisms. _

_I hope you like this chapter and thank you for reading!_

_**NineInchNailed.**_

_**

* * *

**_

"_**Fear is pain arising from the anticipation of evil."**_

_~Aristotle_

_

* * *

_

Yusei awoke from his deep slumber with a start due to the burning sensation in his right forearm. He slowly sat up and turned his attention to the glowing red birthmark of the Crimson Dragon.

"Aki…" he whispered automatically, feeling drowsy and confused, and looked to his side: instead of sleeping Aki all he saw was an empty side of the bed. He reached out and dazedly touched the imprint of her body, feeling the coldness of the bedsheets.

As Yusei returned his gaze to the glowing mark the last tendons of sleep have finally released him. "Aki?" he called out, now wide awake. He quickly noticed that her clothes were gone, that the door to his bathroom was open, and that it was a quarter to four in the morning. The Signer mark began emitting a faint pulling sensation and Yusei understood that Aki did not simply go to her own room or to get something from the kitchen.

She was far away and something had happened.

_Aki, where are you? _he thought with alarm and then heard sounds of footsteps and voices outside. Yusei scattered to put on pair of jeans and a t-shirt and then quickly opened the door of his room to see three of his friends standing in the hallway with displeased expressions on their faces. Ruka and Rua wore rather adorable matching pyjamas and Jack wore a black muscle shirt and baggy pyjama pants.

"What's going on?" Jack asked dryly, looking extremely irritated, and gestured to his own shining birthmark, "Why are we up?" He was ogling him and so were Ruka and Rua, as if expecting him to have answers to everything. Although, to be fair, Yusei _should_ have known what was going on since Crimson Dragon was alerting them about Aki…and he was obviously the last one to see her. In his bed.

"I don't know," Yusei answered honestly.

"But…is there something wrong with Aki-neesan?" Rua asked, looking kind of uncomfortable as he peered through Yusei's bedroom door.

Yusei sometimes forgot that Rua and Ruka were no longer just children and that they understood about adult matters much more than given credit for.

He opened his mouth to answer his confusion again when Crow ran up the stairs and finally joined the rest of the Signer conference. For some inexplicable reason he was wearing only his boxers and nothing else.

"Alright, Yusei, what are you doing to her?" Crow sighed.

"Aki's gone," Yusei replied, the alarming feeling within him growing stronger. He completely ignored the sexual connotation in Crow's question. "Something happened. She's vanished."

"Oh," Crow no longer seemed unconcerned, "I just thought that since…well, that maybe you two were doing something and that's why the Crimson birthmark…well, never mind. Then what's wrong?"

Yusei could no longer just stand there and listen to unconstructive opinions and theories. The Crimson Dragon birthmark _never_ activated without an important reason and he knew that this was no exception. So he quickly retreated to his room where he grabbed the keys to his D-Wheel, his duel deck, and his blue jacket. With those he finally ran out and rushed downstairs to the garage.

With the addition of Carly the rest of the house was awake now and all of his friends followed after him while showering him with questions.

"Yusei, what are you doing? Are you leaving? Do you have any idea what happened?" Crow was asking him.

"Yusei, where are you going?" Jack was asking.

"I can't see anything without my glasses, what's with the commotion? Why is everybody up?" Carly was whimpering while somehow skipping over the stairs without tripping as Jack pulled her after him.

"Why is the Crimson Dragon telling us that Aki-neechan is far away and that she needs us?" Rua was asking.

"Wasn't Aki-san home just a few hours ago?" Ruka was asking as she continued from her brother's question.

"I'm so confused," Bruno was groaning as he sat on the mattress in the corner of the garage and groggily rubbed his eyes after a loud crowd of people suddenly showed up.

Yusei slipped on his jacket in a hurry and began wheeling his red D-Wheel outside. "I need to find her," was all he said and mounted the motorcycle.

"Then wait for us, we're coming with," Jack requested but Yusei wasn't listening and already started the engine and sped off.

"Come on, we're going with you!" Crow yelled after him while jumping on one leg as he struggled to put on pants.

Yusei couldn't think and just drove as a man possessed to where the Signer mark was pulling him. He found his cellphone in his pockets and called Aki's number, over and over again, only to get 'Number unavailable at the moment'. Her phone was either off or she was in a no-reception zone.

_What happened to you, Aki, where did you disappear?_ he was thinking frantically as he relentlessly reached her voicemail for the tenth time.

He drove off a highway ramp and passed by the Daedalus Bridge, still driving in the indeterminate direction and where the Crimson Dragon called him... when, suddenly, the red glow of the birthmark disappeared.

_What's happening?_ Yusei thought with increased anxiety and slammed the gas, accelerating to what was borderline Accel Synchro speed as he raced after the lingering sensation which drew him to Aki – the sensation which rapidly dissipated.

He took a sharp turn into an adjacent street and nearly smashed into a moving car – which breaked with a piercing screech – and continued driving as if through a thick fog in search of a disappearing light. Without decelerating he took another risky turn into some narrow alley and then…he no longer knew where to go. He no longer had a sense of direction to where she could be.

He could no longer feel her.

Yusei slowed the D-Wheel down to a stop and looked around as to where he was. About a hundred metres forward and the alley would lead to a main street leading towards the edge of Neo Domino. This route was also, coincidentally, a middle way between the ocean harbour and the Free Duellists Association.

His phone began ringing and Yusei nervously looked down only to see that it was Crow. "What?" he answered.

"Dude, where are you? We've lost the signal…" Crow said over the phone.

Yusei looked up at the rusted street sign and said, "North of the intersection of Karasuma and Shiokoki streets."

"That's half a mile away from where we are," Crow sounded frustrated, "Stay there. Five minutes."

Yusei hung up and drove slowly towards the main street, feeling a heavy knot forming in the pit of his stomach. On automatic he called Aki's number again just to get the same unavailable message.

"Aki..." he whispered, gazing at the mark of the Crimson Dragon on his forearm. He desperately tried to remember everything that happened yesterday and to try to make sense of it all. He had to understand why she was missing when she was with him just mere hours ago, why the Signer bond activated summoning all of them to her – and why it deactivated now – and why her phone was dead. Could she have been taken away by someone…somewhere, somehow? But in the middle of the night and _out of bed_?

Yusei parked by the side of the road and looked out to the starless black sky and the crossroads leading either to the ocean or the baffling FDA stadium.

The most logical thing was of course that Aki had left on her own…but why? And the Signer mark…it left him with an alarming feeling, like something awful had happened. And if Aki did leave somewhere and got into trouble…then where was she? It seemed like the whole story had begun by the ocean harbour – where Aki had faced the very first sacrificial duellist – but it could also have been the FDA – where the strange circumstances have presently brought them. So where could she have gone to? To a place where everything had begun or to a place where everything up until now had been progressing?

"Yusei!" Crow called out and Yusei turned to look as his two best friends stopped their D-Wheels next to him.

"So the Crimson GPS is no longer working," Jack commented.

Yusei didn't answer and instead looked over their heads to see Bruno turning the corner and catching up to them on his shoddy D-Wheel, followed by Carly's car where Rua and Ruka were probably in too.

They all came to the crossroads and now no longer knew where to go.

"Do you think that…something _really_ happened to Aki now?" Crow asked him hesitantly.

Yusei turned back to look upon the dark horizon. Everything was uncertain now. "The storm is coming," he said quietly, clutching to his right forearm.

* * *

A middle-aged man in a Public Security uniform watched with discomfort as, right before his eyes, Mahdi was tying some unconscious girl to a chair. The man noticed the girl's dishevelled burgundy red hair, then what looked like tear stains on her cheeks, and then her ashen complexion. By the time Mahdi unwaveringly finished tying her hands to the arms of the chair, the security guard was feeling very anxious.

"Isn't that a bit excessive, boss?" he finally spoke up and cast a side glance at his co-worker who was also a member of Public Security and who appeared just as innerved as him. There were only two of them here with the exception of Mahdi and some poor girl.

"Everything is happening just right," Mahdi mumbled as he began adding knots around his unconscious victim's ankles. He tied them tight, noticing that they were cutting into her skin but he didn't really care. "Everything is happening for a reason," he added offhandedly.

Two of Mahdi's bodyguards exchanged looks of confusion and anxiety, obviously not comfortable with this.

"But…she's just some girl," the first guard made another remark. He had a daughter at home of a similar age to her and he couldn't help but place his own child into this situation.

Mahdi taped Aki's mouth with an electrical tape and then stood up abruptly, turning to glare at the man with an angered expression on his face. "You wouldn't understand what it's like in my situation," he hissed, "Either I do this first or else they'd come after me if not today then tomorrow. Better be in the lead, don't you think?"

"That's not what I-" the man began but went mute when Mahdi's eyes narrowed.

"Morality comes into play _now_ for the two of you?" Mahdi asked acidly and transferred his gaze to the second squirmy henchman, "It's fine to stand back and hear about what I've been doing as long as you're not face to face with it, right? But the second you can put a face to someone suddenly everything becomes an issue?"

The two Public Security officers were completely silent now but remained just as disturbed.

"Pitiful cowards," Mahdi spat and stepped away from his victim, throwing a batch of ropes to his useless helpers, "Here, now you have to dirty your hands. Finish tying her up." When the two henchmen hesitated, he shouted "Now!"

While the two men finished the work for him Mahdi directed his attention to a small cellphone in his hand. It had a blooming red rose as its screen background and it began softly vibrating with yet another phone call.

"Soon," Mahdi said absentmindedly to the 'Yusei' name appearing on the phone screen, "Soon."

* * *

Yusei slowed his D-Wheel down to a stop in front of the dark stadium and looked up at the colossal structure with serious contemplation. The headquarters of the "Free Duellists' Association" were the same as any other day: seemingly abandoned and oozing improvable suspicion. And today when he _needed _something more warranted than just simple suspicion, he did not sense anything significantly more dangerous.

It wasn't as if Yusei was clairvoyant in any way…but it was that he maintained that Signer bonds magnetized each and every single one of them and that they all could still sense one another without the explicit help of the Crimson Dragon. And he, especially, believed that his and Aki's bonds were somehow stronger than with other Signers…that the two of them shared a more special connection.

He parked the motorcycle by the entrance and determinedly knocked on the barricaded FDA doors. The procedure was to wait thirty or so seconds and then, once somebody appeared to say that this place was out of order, to say the password.

Yusei waited for over a minute and nothing happened. He knocked again, very impatiently now.

Again, nothing.

He tried pushing the door open but it wouldn't budge: it was like a brick wall. _It's...closed?_ Yusei wondered with bewilderment, _Isn't this place always supposed to be open_?

Not wanting to waste any precious time, he returned to his D-Wheel and started the engine again. This time he slowly drove around the stadium in search of some obscure side entrance: Carly had found her way into this and so it was possible. At the same time, Yusei looked out for any additional suspicious clues such as any accidentally dropped items or…blood stains. Although desperate to find Aki he dreadfully hoped that he would not encounter any blood.

Yusei drove around the back, passing by the shady and junk-filled parking lot, when…all of a sudden he sensed something. He breaked sharply and looked out, still seeing nothing but debris and abandoned vehicle parts…but something was different and he couldn't quite explain it.

He dismounted his D-Wheel and slowly walked across the parking lot, thoughtfully scanning everything in the surroundings and, especially, on the ground. He didn't even raise his head when a distinguishable sound of a D-Wheel carried from the distance until Jack's Wheel of Fortune stopped next to him.

"Okay, what's going on?" Jack questioned, "Is this thing _closed_?" Apparently he had also just spent some time trying to get into FDA and failed.

"It seems so," Yusei answered distractedly.

"And the harbour was a waste of time as well," Jack added with a sigh, "Crow and I looked out for anything indicative of her being there. But nothing."

This wasn't what Yusei would have liked to hear but, as of a few minutes ago, it no longer surprised him. He didn't answer anything, resuming his inexplicable inspection.

Jack observed him with impatience. "Bruno, Carly and the brats found nothing either and Crow decided to drive around some more. I got here to help you with the FDA. But that place seems out of order for real now," he finished.

Yusei just nodded, lost in his own thought.

"Are we going to try breaking into it?" Jack asked, looking rather irritated now.

Yusei nodded automatically again.

"Okay, what the fuck are you doing?" Jack finally snapped.

"She was here," Yusei finally said.

Jack got off his motorcycle and now stood next to the dark-haired Signer. He looked to the ground but saw only cracked asphalt and rusted junk everywhere. "This is just some garbage dump," he pointed out with scorn, "If Aki had gone anywhere it'd be_ inside_ the FDA. So are we getting in there or not?"

"No, Jack, I...don't think she ever went inside," Yusei answered, stopping as he reached the end of the parking lot, and turned around to face Jack.

Jack sighed and folded his arms, looking completely unconvinced and even subtly amused. "Is the Crimson Dragon telling you something it's not telling me?" he inquired.

"No, I can't explain it," Yusei frowned, resuming his walking and careful analysis of the ground. "I just know. She was here."

At that point Jack smirked. "Okay, whatever you say," he sneered.

Yusei thought of saying something like, "I wouldn't expect someone like you to understand, Jack," but ruled against it. After all, the blonde didn't exactly have good people skills or sensitivity to some issues even though he did become better with Carly. Additionally, relating anything back to Carly might have gotten him to understand better but Yusei simply decided not to bother this time.

And then, as if fate answered him, Yusei suddenly saw it. His next breath was a sharp intake and he gestured to the ground. "There," he said quietly.

Jack sighed and closured him, impatiently looking to where he was pointing. "What am I looking at?" he snapped again when he couldn't see anything.

"The tire marks…" Yusei responded and crouched, touching the faded imprint of rubber. He always put so much care and patience into each project he ever built and he unquestionably remembered every little part he'd assembled together.

And Yusei especially knew each bolt and nudge of every D-Wheel he ever constructed...and that included the D-Wheel he built for Aki, the tire marks of which he was now looking at.

* * *

"You may have gotten a wrong impression of me," Mahdi said as he attached electrodes to her temples.

Aki was glaring at him with loathing mixed with terror, unable to speak out or even move. When she came to five minutes ago she quickly discovered that she was bound to a chair with ropes, that her mouth was sealed, and that there were some strange wires leading away from her. The last thing she remembered was Mahdi telling her that she'd help him kill Yusei…and then terrible pain in her abdomen. He must have punched her and caused her to lose consciousness and then took her somewhere. A dull cramp reappeared in her stomach and she knew for certain that it's what must have happened.

"I'm not really a bad guy," Mahdi continued while looking at the computer screen next to her. "Well," he smiled, "Not as much as you probably think. Besides, not all of it is my fault – it was often out of my control."

Aki didn't know what was going on or why there were all these technological devices next to her. She didn't know why she was connected to them and couldn't see what he was looking at and didn't know why it was just her and Mahdi in some mysterious vast space. All she knew was her _fury_. She had never before felt such pure and unsaturated hate towards someone.

"_This_ will be fair," he went on, indifferent to hearing her responses, "It will only be the three of us and, largely, between him and I. You'll be involved too but you'll be mostly a passive bystander. Mostly."

Unable to even begin processing what he was telling her, Aki looked around to see where she was. It seemed to be some type of warehouse and didn't resemble the FDA structure in the least. He must have taken her somewhere entirely else. She vaguely remembered him mentioning something about trying to keep his affairs out of FDA because it wasn't his to do as he wished. She was also able to notice an outline of her D-Wheel far away and close to the entrance to this place.

"I hope he decides to play it fair as well," Mahdi carried on, "Wouldn't surprise me if he tries to bring the rest of your groupies with him...all of you were always about teamwork. But not this time. It has to be just between him and I, this is _not_ a team effort."

_He's delusional…he will never get what he wants_, Aki thought. It was always about _all_ of them and would always be. She was certain that Yusei would never come out by himself...even if he was the leader it was always combined effort.

"But if he doesn't play by the rules...then I still have you," Mahdi suddenly looked at her and reached out to touch her cheek. Aki jerked her head backward so she wouldn't have to feel his touch but her binds barely allowed her any room to breathe not to mention room to move away from him. As he gently trailed his fingertips down to her jaw and then hovered them over her taped lips Aki shuddered in revulsion. "I'll use you as an incentive if he needs more persuasion. Let's hope he values you," Mahdi told her.

Aki's whimper was muffled by tape and tears suddenly clouded her vision. _Yusei, please don't come for me_, she began pleading in her mind, overtaken with fear for him, _Don't worry about me, please! I'll be okay…I'll escape somehow… Just don't come here, don't do what he asks. I'm not worth the risk._

At that point Mahdi took another glance at the hidden computer screen and then let out a sigh, picking up a syringe. Aki stared at it in shock and desperately began tugging at her binds.

"It's time for you to go back to sleep," Mahdi said and roughly grabbed her arm to still it while pressing a needle into her skin and Aki screamed into the adhesive tape.

"It's okay," he soothed her, his voice an echo as the horrible darkness began drowning her, "You'll wake up just when the show starts. Sweet dreams."

* * *

Yusei sat with his elbows propped on his knees and with his hands holding his head and barely heard his friends' voices around him. He ignored any suggestions for food or coffee, unable to even think about anything as insignificant as that.

"I checked two malls and the quarantined Duel Academy just in case," Bruno reported.

"We checked out some malls too," Rua added, "But everything's closed at this hour...and there didn't seem to be any traces of Aki-neechan."

"I drove through a couple of parks and nothing," Crow said gravely.

_She wouldn't be in any of those places_, Yusei was thinking, _She was outside the FDA and now there is no longer any trace of her. She was taken away. _He kept his eyes closed as he concentrated on the analysis in his mind. He had to come up with his own answer, to try to figure everything out, and only then ask for others' support and filter out the most probable possibility. And if he couldn't come up with anything then he would perform the borderline infinite trial-and-error search: of driving _everywhere_ and checking _everywhere_ in search for her, like a man possessed.

"It'll be okay, Yusei," Ruka said gently, hesitantly touching his shoulder, "I'm sure Aki-san is just out for a walk or something."

"Yeah," Crow unsuccessfully tried to sound as cheerful as the young Signer, "And now that we've got Mikage and Ushio paged about the case as well, we'll find her in no time."

_So who could have taken her? Mahdi?_ Yusei continued thinking, completely unaware of everyone,_ He's the only one who seems to be consistently connected to everything: to murders, to Set, and the FDA spawned out of the duel prohibitions. But why? I'm supposed to duel him later on today…so why would he need to take Aki?_

"I still say we try getting into FDA. There, once we find Mahdi, I'll beat him up until he tells us something. He probably weighs the thirty pounds you do so he stands no chance against Jack Atlas," Jack told him.

"But you guys saw Aki-san's D-Wheel tracks, right?" Ruka inquired, "Then she's with her D-Wheel and so maybe she just drove away somewhere."

"Yeah," Carly joined in to Ruka's hopeful suggestion, "Maybe that's what happened. Maybe she just wanted to get out or..."

"What if she just left. Got away," Jack disrupted, "Did you do something to piss her off?"

"...Yeah, was everything alright between...uh...you two?" Crow added timidly.

With those two questions suddenly harshly echoing in his mind, Yusei was torn away from his own thoughts and finally looked up at the small huddled group around him.

"Everything was perfect," he answered coldly. He couldn't blame his friends from exploring all the possibilities but this theory made his blood boil. Even though he had considered it as well – that he had done something and pushed Aki away to the point where she had to leave somewhere abruptly – there was nothing in her behaviour from yesterday that indicated any of that. They were happy and everything he had with Aki up until now had been genuine and free of tension. For him they were…irrevocably in love.

With that comment Yusei also signified the closing of consolations and discussions with him. He needed some solitude. And it wasn't until an hour later – when everybody (excluding Jack and Crow) involuntarily slipped into exhausted slumber – that somebody tried speaking with him again.

"Come outside with me," Jack said. It was not a question.

Yusei figured what this was about and simply followed him.

Jack lead him just outside of Poppo Time and out of the eavesdropping range for the rest of their friends. Once there, Jack lit up a cigarette and took a long drag. "Okay, so what are your theories?" he then asked him calmly.

Yusei was looking at his best friend and archrival with a blank expression on his face. He was masochistically expecting another type of Jack's therapeutic remedies – those involving the blonde Signer's fists – and this was an unexpected turn of events.

"I have only one," Yusei answered while making another countless phone call to Aki. As of two hours ago the calls inexplicably started coming through but she wouldn't pick up and he kept getting her voicemail. He didn't know if this was better or worse: the fact that her phone wasn't dead after all or the fact that she wasn't answering for some reason.

Nerve wrecking seconds passed as Yusei waited for her to answer and his heart sank into oblivion when he, once again, reached her voicemail. "She…had willingly gone away somewhere but something went wrong and she has been taken away," he finished, temporarily putting away his phone.

"Plausible enough," Jack let the smoke pass through his nostrils, "What are you going to do?"

Yusei found himself grateful for sudden simplicity and detachment in Jack's voice. Because he had to suppress his own horrible and suffocating turmoil – more devastating than any of his friends could ever imagine – others' stress only served to innerve him even more. Right now, Jack – and possibly Bruno – appeared to be the only one who could help him come up with a plausible and objective decision.

"Question Mahdi. He's the one that's connected to everything," Yusei said.

"What I've been saying," Jack sighed, "Motive?"

"Revenge," Yusei suggested, "He might have had it in for her since she prevented his duel and saved Crow. He may have decided to act on it spontaneously, before our duel today."

"Sounds possible," Jack agreed, "But what if you're wrong?"

Yusei looked out to the multitude of colours playing upon the horizon with the first strokes of sunrise. "Then I will look for her until I find her. I will check every house, every street…I will turn this city inside out until I will find her."

"Good luck," Jack said.

"I will find her," Yusei repeated firmly and checked his watch. It was almost seven in the morning. By his estimation Aki had now been missing for about three hours. They had recuperated enough so it was time to go back to FDA and get answers, regardless if the place was dead barricaded or not. And Yusei wasn't going to leave until he would get something.

At that minute – and with good timing – Crow's D-Wheel drove up to them and the third member of Team Satisfaction turned off the engine.

"Anything?" Jack asked him nonchalantly.

Crow shook his head, saying nothing. His mouth was set in a straight line and the dark shield of his helmet concealed his eyes. But even so Yusei could tell that Crow was unmistakably upset and agitated. The ginger-haired Signer couldn't remain in one place and kept driving around.

"I'm asking only for the two of you to come with me," Yusei requested. He didn't want to drag the others into this – even if the matter _did_ concern them – because this wasn't something that required their skills: him, Jack and Crow weren't going for a friendly chat or to play by the rules. "We'll get into FDA one way or another," he concluded.

Jack nodded and fervently sucked on the cigarette, trying to finish it as quick as possible.

Crow dismounted his D-Wheel and looked at his friends for the first time. Dismay was clearly reflected in his grey eyes. "Could you give me ten minutes?" Crow asked quietly.

Yusei nodded his agreement and Crow disappeared into the house. As Yusei watched his friend depart he felt something strange and inexplicable.

"He's taking this badly," Jack pointed out.

Yusei didn't know what to answer to that, deciding not to think too much into this. It wasn't what was important right now even if it was obvious that everybody was deathly worried…and some more than others. He didn't notice Jack studying him with a contemplative expression until he heard Jack's aggravated sigh.

"Listen," Jack dropped the cigarette bud to the ground, putting it out with his foot, "I didn't want to tell you this but-"

Yusei's phone started ringing.

Jack went mute while Yusei forgot everything and directed his anxious gaze to the flashed screen just to see...Aki's name as the caller.

Yusei's heart sank deep and then spiked up to near light speed. He instantly picked up. "Aki!" he called out. She was alright…she was alright…she called him.

"No, but guess who!" a chilling male bass answered on the other end.

Yusei's eyes widened and he felt a nauseating wave of panic. "Mah…di?" he managed in shock.

Jack, who seemed cool and collected all this time, stood upright and had an alarmed expression plastered on his face.

"Who else?" Mahdi laughed, "Now, I'm calling you to-"

"WHAT DID YOU DO TO HER? Where have you taken her?" Yusei shouted, completely losing it, "I swear, if you did anything to-"

"Whoa, calm down," Mahdi interrupted him, "I didn't do anything to her...well, _yet_. If you'd like to prevent that then I suggest you and I meet up."

"Your business is with me, Mahdi, so let her go!" Yusei shouted.

"You come to see me and _then_ I'll let her go. How is that?" Mahdi said, "You and I will have an interesting discussion…and then, depending on what you decide, you'll get your girlfriend back. Sounds good?"

Yusei didn't care how suspicious that sounded. He didn't care that it was a trap: a possible psychopath was holding Aki hostage and he would do _anything_ to get her back. "Fine," he decided.

"Come alone, Fudo Yusei," Mahdi demanded, his voice suddenly devoid of any amusement.

Yusei directed a quick look at Jack who was watching him intently.

"Come alone or else I'll slit her throat," Mahdi said.

Yusei felt a jolt of unspeakable fear. "I will do…as you ask," he managed.

"Great," Mahdi instantly sounded elated on the other line, "Then go to Shinjuku East Boulevard located on the Satellite Island. I'll be waiting at the old warehouse – it's the only one there and you can't miss it."

Yusei involuntarily thought back to the duel he had in order to find out the FDA whereabouts. He had fought it through Shinjuku East boulevard, the abandoned Satellite district…the ruins. And now he was going back there.

"Do you know where I'm talking about?" Mahdi pressed.

"Yes," Yusei said.

"Then be here in thirty minutes. Don't keep me waiting," Mahdi said, "And remember: come alone."

"Yes," Yusei felt a suffocating hollow feeling inside of him and slowly said, "Mahdi? I promise you that if you do _anything _as to touch a single hair on her head...then I will kill you."

Silence ensued on the other end before Mahdi hung up.

Yusei let his hand drop to his side and directed his gaze to the ground.

"So Mahdi has her?" Jack guessed.

Yusei nodded silently, his eyes darkened.

Jack growled and cracked his knuckles. "That son of a bitch! Let's go now and beat the hell out of him! I'll turn him into pulp!"

Yusei said nothing.

"He'll regret ever messing with one of us," Jack continued foaming at the mouth, "You take on one of us and you take on us _all_!" Then he drew in a deep breath and at the top of his lungs began calling, "Cr-"

At that point Yusei reached up and simply clapped his hand over the former King's mouth to mute him.

The outrage was evident in Jack's furious eyes just as much as surprise.

"No," Yusei said quietly, "I have to do this alone."

Jack smacked his hand away. "What the fuck are you saying?"

"I'm doing this alone," Yusei repeated, "And you need to keep this just between you and I until this is finished. You got this, Jack?"

Jack glared at him with disbelief, probably thinking he went insane. "I'm getting Crow and others," King Atlas decided and turned to walk into Poppo Time when Yusei grabbed the collar of his shirt and violently shoved him against the wall.

"I said I have to do this _alone_, Jack!" Yusei growled and Jack now stared back with shock, obviously taken aback by such uncharacteristic display of anger and impulse.

Yusei realized that he was losing it and instantly released his friend, stepping back. "He said he'll kill her if I don't come by myself," he explained quietly, avoiding Jack's eyes.

Jack's face was now an unreadable mask.

"As long as he has her my hands are tied," Yusei went on.

Jack continued listening to him in silence.

"All of us had a battle with Dark Signers," Yusei said, "But each one of us had to face our own demons. Some things are meant to be accomplished by ourselves."

Jack still wasn't saying anything.

"You understand...don't you, Jack?" Yusei questioned, urging for a reply, and faced him now, "After what happened with Carly and you."

"I understand," Jack finally said, "But I'll give you one hour and not more than that. After that we'll come to you."

Yusei stared. "Jack..." he started.

"If you can't get Aki back within that time frame then you'll need us," Jack determined, "I'm giving you more than enough time to do what you need, Yusei. I don't care what you say, we won't abandon you. So where is he holding her?"

"Shinjuku East. Warehouse," Yusei answered.

"_That_ god-forsaken region?" Jack mumbled, "Either way, I'll tell others about everything but you're still going to have your alone time. So you _either_ come back here with Aki within an hour or we come after you. You got that?"

At that point Yusei nodded, feeling grateful. Jack's plan still sounded trustful and reasonable and he wasn't going to argue further and waste any time. So he turned to leave when Jack's hand on his shoulder suddenly stopped him.

"Wait," Jack ravaged through his duel deck and held out a card for him, "If you're going to end up duelling him then take this."

For a second Yusei thought it was Jack's loyal Red Demon's Dragon but then he realized that it was some unknown Trap card.

"What is this?" Yusei asked, looking up into Jack's purple eyes.

"It's a Trap card," Jack answered, "Take it."

"_That_ I can see," Yusei said, "I've never seen you use it before, Jack." He didn't understand the meaning of this.

"Because it's new. I picked it out yesterday," Jack explained shortly while still relentlessly holding the card for him.

Yusei raised his eyebrows. The Trap card Jack was trying to give him was optimistically called the Card of Last Will. When one's monster is destroyed or loses Attack points, this Trap allowed drawing of five extra cards. This seemed tailored for the Sky Dragon of Osiris.

Jack noticed his scrutiny and sighed with defeat. "Crow suggested a plan to me," he finally revealed something tangible, "That him and I challenge Mahdi instead of you."

"Why?" Yusei questioned with astonishment.

"Never mind that now," Jack avoided it, "The point is, we've been preparing new cards he wouldn't be able to predict since he seems to know something about all of us. And if you're planning to use Osiris then take this."

Yusei looked back down to the card and finally took it from the blonde's hands. "Both of you are idiots," he said, simply no longer having any more time to keep questioning this. He figured he'd get some answers when he returned. With Aki.

Jack rolled his eyes but, despite his annoyance, said, "I want this card back when it's over."

Yusei would have found this situation really funny if the current circumstances weren't so grave. "Don't worry, Jack," he finally said, "I'm not going to run off somewhere with it…"

Jack grimaced at the obvious stab. "You have to come back so you can give it back to me. No excuses, Yusei," he still insisted.

At that point it suddenly dawned on Yusei that it was Jack's own way of telling him that he worries. That he wants to see him return alive and well. "I'll give it back, Jack," he promised.

Jack nodded contentedly. "Then I'll see you in one hour either way," he finished and turned to leave, "And Yusei? Kick his ass. Show him not to mess with any of us."

Yusei attempted at a small smile before the former King of Games departed. And, with that, Yusei hurried to the garage where he got his D-Wheel and manually wheeled it out, not starting the engine until he was some distance from home. Then he drove off into the early morning city.

He made it to the Shinjuku East boulevard with ten minutes to spare. As Mahdi had indicated, the ruined warehouse was darkening on the horizon and was impossible to miss.

He parked his D-Wheel on the street across from the warehouse and attached a duel disk to his arm just in case when, all of a sudden, the mark of the Crimson Dragon once again lit up on his forearm. This time, however, it was not burning or calling him to Aki. It was just there, almost as if a warning that what was about to happen wasn't going to be simple. That this was going to be a serious battle.

Yusei finally and cautiously made his way into the wrecked Satellite building. Everybody generally avoided this place since the Zero Reverse – mostly because the roof perpetually looked like it would fall in and there was a rumour circulating between kids that this place was haunted.

Inside, it was revealed that the facility was single-level and occupied a significantly large floor space encompassing at least six thousand square feet. The colossal area was completely devoid of any such warehouse-typical items as cranes or forklifts or goods' stacked pallets. The broken roof was actually held up from the inside by metallic support pillars which successfully prevented it from collapsing. The lights were hanging from the supported pillars and harshly illuminated only a small space right the middle of the warehouse. And the small lighted space revealed various advanced computer equipment next to a metallic office chair.

And in that chair sat Aki, her delicate frame slouched and tied up from head to toe.

"Aki!" Yusei cried out and began running towards her. He was seconds from reaching her when a tall white-haired man came out from behind all the technology and now blocked her from his view.

"You're early but that's okay!" Mahdi greeted him enthusiastically.

Ordinarily Yusei would have continued running and punched Mahdi out like there was no tomorrow but Mahdi produced a large knife from his pocket, stopping him dead in his tracks.

Yusei took steps back, gritting his teeth, while Mahdi chuckled. "So, you're alone just as I asked – good job. But about _that_…" he pointed to Yusei's glowing Signer mark, "I hope you're not doing something stupid like notifying your friends where you are."

"Let her go!" Yusei shouted, clenching his fists, barely hearing anything Mahdi was saying to him. What had he done to her? She was unconscious and, it seemed to him, nearly lifeless. Did he lie and actually hurt her in any way?

Mahdi now moved to stand right by Aki and lovingly admired the knife close to her neck. "I know what it can do," he reminded quietly about the birthmark.

"It's not," Yusei replied, regaining some composure with Mahdi's risky proximity with Aki, "It's glowing with the anticipation of evil."

"How romantic," Mahdi chuckled.

Yusei noticed that Aki seemed to be connected to all that technology through the electrodes stuck to her temples and felt abruptly frightened for her. He had no idea what this was about and one of the monitors by her head revealed a spinning double helix similar to a DNA strand; and another, to his temporary relief, was a heart monitor which revealed a steady beat.

"What have you done to her?" Yusei managed through his clenched teeth.

"Oh," Mahdi seemed surprised by that question, "Nothing, actually. She's just sleeping. I gave her a dose but she'll be up soon, don't worry." He pointed to the heart monitor as if to indicate that he wasn't lying, "I just wanted to talk to you first before letting her join."

"Then talk," Yusei demanded.

Mahdi was now staring at him with a rather strange expression. He seemed almost…dreamy. "Oh wow…" he spoke up, "Now that I finally know who you are and now that I'm really paying attention to you…it's so obvious! I…I have finally found you."

"What are you talking about?" Yusei growled.

"You, _you_," Mahdi said, "I knew they'd send somebody after me but I could never have imagined that it'd be you! You're going to have to forgive my ignorance…I have no idea how I could have missed you up until _now_."

Yusei didn't understand anything Mahdi was saying and he wasn't sure if he actually cared. The only thing he cared about was Aki and rescuing her.

Mahdi cocked his head to the side. "I'm going to tell you everything," he continued softly, "You seem confused. Maybe you haven't realized everything yet...but not to worry, I will help you."

"So_ tell_ me everything," Yusei tried directing the conversation to something tangible, "You said you'd talk to me and that you'd let Aki go after. So get to it."

"No, no, no," Mahdi sighed, still holding his knife in a close proximity to Aki, "I said that we'll chat and that _depending_ on your decision I'd let her go."

"Then what do you need me to decide on?" Yusei asked, losing his patience.

"On a duel," Mahdi answered and touched the duel disk attached to his own arm for emphasis, "I just…really want to duel you, _Fudo Yusei_. That is all."

Yusei knew that it couldn't be that simple. It was obvious that Mahdi was hiding a trick up his sleeve. He was supposed to have a duel with Mahdi today anyway so something must have happened if he had decided to kidnap Aki as a means of coercing him into duelling. He worriedly transferred his gaze to Aki's pale and unconscious form, knowing that he'd do anything to save her. "_Just_ a duel…?" he asked.

"Yes, just a duel," Mahdi smiled at him, "And during a duel I'll tell you some interesting things…and isn't that why you wanted to duel me to begin with? To find out some answers?"

Yusei nodded rigidly. It was true even though it was no longer of first priority to him.

"Well, then not only will I tell you everything I know but you'll also get your girlfriend back. Just a simple duel where the winning conditions won't matter," Mahdi continued smiling enigmatically at him, "Should you win or lose...it won't matter because either way I'll let her go. I just want...no, _need_ to duel you."

This was such absurd nonsense. "What are you trying to pull, Mahdi?" Yusei growled, "You and I were to duel today. Why are you using her to do what was going to happen anyway?"

Mahdi's smile grew wider and he appeared on the border of lunacy. "Because, as of a few hours ago,_ everything_ has changed."

Yusei looked at Aki's unconscious form again. _Everything…changed? _he thought, _Aki, what happened with you? What happened here? _

"What is your answer?" Mahdi prompted him.

Yusei frowned, returning his gaze to his enemy. "I don't believe anything you say. I _know_ you won't let us walk out of here after the duel."

Mahdi sighed. "I was hoping you'd do the right thing by yourself...but alas, you need some additional persuasion." He swiftly moved the knife to Aki's throat and Yusei flinched, screaming "STOP!"

"What is that? Is that agreement?" Mahdi asked naively while holding the blade a millimetre away from her skin.

Yusei would _never_ do anything to risk Aki's life like that again. "Yes, I...I'll duel you," he said, defeated, and activated his duel disk.

"You've chosen correctly," Mahdi nodded and peeled the bandage off his palm, revealing a fresh cut. Then he knelt and roughly pressed his hand to the ground.

With that action, the ground began to quake and inexplicable gushes of wind enclosed them within a hissing funnel. Yusei held his balance against the shaking ground, a task which was effortless for Mahdi who had already re-bandaged his hand. Glowing blood red seal formed around them, colossal in size and stretching nearly for the whole warehouse area. Lastly, the seal lines formed mysterious Egyptian symbols before the earthquake finally seized.

The three of them were now encased in the _Sutekh Sacrificō_ seal which would not release them until one of them lost. And, as Yusei knew, the loss of these duels ended with death.

At the same time Yusei suddenly realized that – for the entire duration of the seal formation – Mahdi was watching him very carefully and almost with anticipation.

"So...what do you think?" Mahdi asked him with an excited grin, "Do you like it?"

_What is he asking me?_ Yusei thought. Instead, he made an invisible smile. "And you said that the winning conditions won't matter for this duel," he remarked and inconspicuously checked his watch: he had forty minutes left.

Mahdi raised his eyebrows. "Yes, I did and I did _not_ lie: there are no death conditions in this duel. This is only a formality and I made it so," he answered and drew cards into his hand.

"Formality?" Yusei repeated, drawing his own five cards. This didn't make any sense.

"I have no desire to kill you, _Fudo Yusei_," Mahdi said while watching him _very _intensely.

Yusei found himself taken aback both by that blunt statement and its delivery. Especially since he, himself, held that he wouldn't hesitate to kill Mahdi if he had truly hurt Aki. This was the only occasion where he would deviate from his usual principles without question. "Then what it is you want with me, Mahdi?" Yusei finally asked, "And why did you drag Aki into this?"

"I think I'll take the first turn," Mahdi avoided the question and drew a card.

[Mahdi]

[**Beginning of Turn One**: 0 Monsters; 0 Cards on Field; 6 Cards in hand; LP4000]

"Lovely," Mahdi nodded approvingly at his hand before returning his gaze to the Signer. "As I've already told you…I only wish to talk to you."

"Then _talk_," Yusei demanded coldly, unable to take any more of this nonsense. This guy sounded almost…obsessed with him.

"I am," Mahdi said, raising his eyebrows, and gestured to the ground, "I asked you what you think about this. If you like it."

"What?" Yusei asked.

"I made this for you," Mahdi said, continuing gesturing to the ground, "The _Sutekh Sacrificō_ seal. _This_. I created it for you...so I could find you. Can't you see? Can you not read the hieroglyphs? Can't you read what they say?"

Yusei felt a chill down his spine and had to swallow in a throat suddenly dry. It…couldn't be. It was too simple. "What…do you mean?" Yusei asked quietly. He didn't know if Mahdi was really able to create something as horrible as this _Sutekh Sacrificō_ mechanism…and if it then meant that Mahdi was Set, their terrible enemy all along…or if he was simply a psychopathic lunatic. Either way it suddenly clicked in his head and he felt alarmed.

Mahdi's smile grew wider while still somehow retaining that creepy gentle quality to it. Instead of answering, he placed a Monster card on his duel disk. "I'll start with basics," he said, "I play Bowganian in Defence mode."

A Level 3 monster appeared – its appearance that of a mechanical eyeball – and its attack points were at 1300 and its defence points at 1000.

Something was wrong. Something was dangerous. And Yusei could not shake the terrible instinctual feeling in his gut. "Mahdi, just _who_ are you?" he explicitly demanded.

"And then I'll place two face down cards on the field," Mahdi continued, as if deaf to the questions addressed to him, and two hidden cards appeared. He then looked to at Yusei, his expression unwavering, and asked, "Do you want me to be done, _Fudo Yusei_?"

"What?" Yusei asked. _Why does he always put such emphasis on my name_? he wondered involuntarily.

"Do you want me do finish my turn _now_?" Mahdi asked him, "Because I can."

Yusei didn't know any point to his question rather than to test him or to intimidate him. "I'm not afraid of you," he answered.

"Have you ever heard about a famous Milgram experiment?" Mahdi changed topics suddenly.

"No," Yusei said, going along with the constantly skipping responses.

"In 1960s a psychologist named Stanley Milgram conducted an experiment where he had participants electroshock other participants based on their wrong answers," Mahdi said, "For each wrong answer the shock charge would increase until it would reach the lethal amount."

"Why are you telling me this?" Yusei asked, feeling dread slowly spreading through every fibre of his being. His gut feeling amplified.

"To be fair, the original experiment simply measured the willingness of people to _obey _commands and none of those electroshocks were real," Mahdi went on, "But that's not why I'm interested in this experiment. I like it as an example of negative reinforcement, you see."

"You enjoy inflicting pain to those who disobey you," Yusei summarized.

Mahdi seemed happy. "Tell me the truth...Fudo Yusei. You claim not to be afraid of me. But...are you afraid _for_ her?" he gestured to Aki.

Yusei flinched. He _was_ but he refused to be intimidated. He insisted, "Finish your turn."

Another slow smile appeared on Mahdi's face. "As you wish then..." he said and revealed a green Magic card from his hand, "Because you asked I will play my Magic card, Meteor of Destruction."

Yusei gritted his teeth, knowing the effect of this card. It allowed to inflict 1000 points of direct damage but only if one's opponent's Life Points are _not_ 3000 or less. Unfortunately, Yusei wasn't in the safety zone and he didn't have anything to deflect this damage since he hasn't been able to have a turn yet.

"I told you about the original Milgram experiment because I've decided to conduct one of my own," Mahdi suddenly notified him while still holding the card in his hand and not playing it yet, "But this one will be as_ real _as it gets."

"What?" Yusei frowned.

"I'm not a psychic duellist," Mahdi said, "But your whore is. And I have found a way to _tap_ into her energy."

"What are you saying?" Yusei asked, feeling loathing pumping acid in his veins. How dare he…

"See this?" Mahdi turned his duel disk to its side, showing a strange blue button, "This is a receptor. You see those wires attached to her head? This sends information to her and, with it, electric shock. The shock will cause her to materialize every single one of my attacks whether she likes it or not. And, with each attack I make, the electric charge will increase."

Yusei suddenly felt cold terror. He had never before felt so frightened. "AKI!" he cried out, attempting to make a run for her when Mahdi simply moved closer to her and once again had a knife to her throat.

"You really want to try this?" Mahdi challenged.

Yusei froze.

"Good," Mahdi approved and finally activated the powerful Magic card, "Now eat one thousand points of direct damage."

Aki's unconscious body convulsed with an electric charge while a Solid Vision meteor appeared from above and began plunging towards Yusei.

"Aki!" Yusei screamed out for her while Mahdi went on, "I think you _know_ who I am now…don't you? A god has descended...and it is I."

Yusei could do nothing, being completely paralyzed with helpless horror for Aki, while a materialized fireball mercilessly smashed into him.

"Welcome to the world of pain, _Yusei_," Mahdi said with an enigmatic smile, "I hope you enjoy your stay. I end my turn."

* * *

_So I don't know how it is in Japan but in Canada it is illegal to use the phone while driving…so I don't know if Yusei should have been doing all those calls while driving. I just couldn't stop thinking about it as I was writing that part._

_And then I remembered that this anime is about card games on motorcycles. Yeah, I think it's fine for him to do whatever he wants._

_So yeah…I think it's pretty clear who Set has been all along. Not much of a twist there. _

_Also, it will get more sadistic in the next chapter…but lots of mysteries will be answered! _

_So I hope you'll keep reading this story and that you don't really hate the sudden change of "mood". _

_Stay tuned for the continuation of Yusei vs. Mahdi! _


	21. Chapter 20: Execution

_Author's Note:_

_This is Chapter 20 of "The Kingdom [Be]Comes."_

_I'm not going to say much about this chapter other that it continues right from the previous one. So Yusei vs. the villain of the story continues. It's dark and I think more depressing than last chapter._

_So read on and tell me what you think!_

_Once again, I'd like to thank everyone for your reviews – signed or anonymous – and all your questions and favourites. I love you guys..._

_Thank you for reading,_

_**NineInchNailed**__. _

* * *

"_**But I do nothing upon myself, and yet I am my own executioner."**_

_~John Donne_

* * *

After being thrown by the materialized effect damage, Yusei scrambled back up to his feet, feeling dull pain in his joints.

"Did that hurt?" Mahdi's voice taunted him.

Yusei met the amused black eyes of his enemy with quiet loathing. On the inside he felt such monstrous anger that he had to constrain himself from trembling. "Are you done?" he asked, steadying his balance.

Mahdi seemed abruptly surprised. "Um…yes," he said.

[Mahdi]

[**End of Turn One**: Bowganian (Lvl.3) ATK1300/DEF1000 in Defence Mode; 2 Face down Cards; 2 Cards in hand; LP4000]

Yusei looked down to the glowing mark of the Crimson Dragon on his forearm and then fixed his gaze on Aki's still lifeless form. _Wake up_, he thought, _Aki, you have to wake up_. He knew then that this duel was going to be brutal - Mahdi would try to torture them both, probably to death. It didn't matter what Mahdi told him earlier on or what he promised...it was obvious that him and Aki were now treading in dangerous waters.

"So…" Mahdi started, "Don't you have some questions for me?"

"It's my turn," Yusei announced and drew a card.

[Yusei Fudo]

[**Beginning of Turn One**: 0 Monsters; 0 Cards on Field; 6 Cards in hand; LP3000]

"You are Set," Yusei said. It was not a question.

Mahdi brightened with a proud smile. "The one and only," he introduced himself, "I have to admit, however, that I'm not a _true_ God, per-say, but rather I'm a reincarnation of Set. A figure of him...or his existence in the Human Realm."

Yusei turned his attention to the Equip Magic card he just drew. "And you created the _Sutekh Sacrificō_ seal to-"

"To find you, yes," Mahdi continued from his question, obviously eager to tell more, "I put obvious clues into it to lead you to me. The name of the seal, for one. It should have told you exactly who you were dealing with…and it did!"

Yusei slowly raised his eyes back to his enemy. "Why?" he asked, "What is it that you want with me?"

Mahdi's smile changed from pride to that of joy. "You have the Egyptian God card in your possession. The Sky Dragon of Osiris."

"As have others before me," Yusei replied, "What should that tell me?"

"Yes, but they have owned them for very specific reasons," Mahdi said, "They're the cards that contain the power of the _Gods_ within them, _Fudo Yusei_. So this card chose you and gave you its power…can you guess why?"

Yusei couldn't answer him, having been wondering this same question ever since the Sky Dragon branded him. At the same time it was Yugi Mutou who passed the card to him…so Yusei didn't quite understand what kind of a 'choice' the card_ itself_ somehow could have had in this matter.

Mahdi looked borderline ecstatic now, smiling and revealing his even white teeth. "I had a search," he said, "I had a list of people consistently involved in suspicious or supernatural events. I further narrowed that down to the people I couldn't peer into…"

_Peering into? What does that mean? _Yusei tried to figure out but decided not to disrupt: after all, Mahdi seemed more than excited to tell him everything. Yusei discreetly tuned his attention to Aki again. _Aki, you need to try waking up now_, he thought, _Please come to_. He needed her support. And he needed to _see_ her be conscious and not the ashen lifeless form she was now. And she needed to hear what Mahdi had to say as well.

"…the day the Sky Dragon of Osiris took flight for the first time since Mutou Yugi I knew it was a sign!" Mahdi eagerly went on, "I knew that somebody had been sent after me but I needed to find them first _before_ they would come after me-"

"You are mad," Yusei interrupted. It was no longer just a small aspect of what Mahdi was saying – _all of it_ didn't make sense now and he could no longer just stand and listen. "I would never have even _known_ about you if you hadn't started killing people... if you hadn't apparently begun searching for me."

Mahdi sighed with evident impatience. "What nonsense!" he exclaimed, "Why don't you understand that this was _destined_ to happen, _Fudo Yusei_? That – if I didn't find you first – _you_ would have come after me? And then, if you found me, I wouldn't have had the lead! This was destiny but I just managed to find you first!"

Yusei was staring at Mahdi in silence as it suddenly and clearly dawned on him: Mahdi was insane. He was completely and unquestionably mentally disturbed. Even if he was a reincarnation of an angry Egyptian deity and if everything he was saying was true...it didn't make him any less sick. He was dangerous, psychotic and obsessed. And there could be absolutely no reasoning done with him.

"I summon Speed Warrior in Attack mode," Yusei said, forcing himself not to dwell on his realization and to begin progressing the duel. A level 2 monster appeared – that in a shape of an android – and its attack was at 900 points and defence at 300 points.

"It's like you don't care, _Fudo Yusei,_" Mahdi commented with what sounded like scorn and almost as if…hurt. He was no longer smiling.

That remark further affirmed to Yusei that Mahdi seemed to be craving his approval and attention, for whatever obscene reason. Perhaps the best way to go about this while situation would be to keep a certain detachment. Yusei took another quick look at a time: thirty five minutes before Jack and others would be on their way here.

"Either way the Sky Dragon tipped me off," Mahdi apparently decided to keep talking even though Yusei didn't exactly prompt him. "I couldn't find any whereabouts of the previous Millennium Item owners and so I _knew_ that it wasn't that Pharaoh this time. It had to have been someone else. So I sent out messengers to Team Ragnarok and, since I was near you Signers, I went after all of you personally."

_Millennium Item owners?_ Yusei wondered, _Who are these people? And Team Ragnarok…why? Is it because he couldn't "peer" into them for some reason? Is it because all of us are protected by some outside forces?_

"And then I thought that I couldn't have been any luckier," Mahdi smiled at him with gentleness that Yusei found rather disturbing. "Because the first one I've come after was Hogan Crow...and he had the power of Osiris in his possession!" Mahdi sighed at that point, "Even though it was just a clever diversion I understood then that it was _you_ who was sent after me. Not just any bearer…but _you_!"

"What does that mean?" Yusei questioned, hoping to finally hear the straightforward truth, "What is it that you think you know about me?"

Mahdi opened his arms almost as if anticipating a hug. "You and I are the same, _Fudo Yusei._ _You_ are exactly the same as _me_!" he announced cheerfully.

Yusei shook his head, feeling angered by that absurd statement. "I am _nothing_ like you," he retorted.

Mahdi's expression softened and he looked almost as if he was exhibiting sympathy. "As I am the reincarnation of an Egyptian God…so are you, _Fudo Yusei_," he said softly, "You are the reincarnation of Osiris."

Everything suddenly became almost as if in slow-motion. It was all suddenly…incomprehensible. Yusei involuntarily stumbled and looked to the floor, numbly feeling like the whole world had just crashed down on him. The impact of Mahdi's words held an equivalent to what he felt when he first saw what was behind Z-ONE's mask.

"I imagine it must be kind of hard to take," Mahdi commented lightly but his voice wasn't enough to bring Yusei out of his shock. He had nothing he could say, unable to even _comprehend_ that something like this could be possible. How…could it?

"And deep inside you must know it's the truth," Mahdi's voice continued haunting him, "Don't you just_ feel_ it to be true? Isn't it just something you've always suspected and are now relieved to hear?"

"I…" Yusei fixed his gaze on Aki. Right now she was the only thing that seemed tangible, something _real_. She was the light that could bring him out of this darkness. _Aki, I need you! _he thought anxiously and suddenly his Crimson Dragon birthmark lit up with higher intensity. At that same moment the red Signer mark lit up on Aki's arm and she murmured softly, stirring as she began regaining consciousness.

"AKI!" Yusei called desperately while Mahdi transferred his own acidic stare to her. "Oh, look who decided to grace us with her presence," he remarked with discontent, obviously more pleased to have a one-on-one discussion.

Aki's eyes slowly flickered open and revealed to her the blur that was reality. "What…" she tried to mumble but found that her lips were adhered shut by tape. Blinking rapidly to clear away the haze, Aki tried to move her limbs but her whole body was bound up and immobile. _What's going on, where am I? _ she thought, feeling completely disoriented and unable to remember what had happened or what was happening now. She was only overwhelmed with lingering headache. And then, abruptly, she heard a breathtakingly familiar voice calling her and, as she dazedly looked in its direction, she saw Yusei. He seemed…so far away from her…he was standing with an active duel disk...there was a colossal red barrier all around them. Was he…duelling her? Why he was so rumpled...? Did she use her powers on him…somehow?

"Yusei…" she muffled into the adhesive tape and then flinched, feeling a chill running down her spine. The vision of him made her realize what was going on. As if to further reaffirm her nightmare come to life, Mahdi's face appeared in her field of vision.

"Welcome back," Mahdi greeted her and Aki flinched again, her eyes frantically searching for her lover. Yusei was alone…why was he alone? Where were others? Was he duelling Mahdi? Did Mahdi hurt him in any way?

"Step away from her!" Yusei shouted at Madhi, "You've got me here so why do you need her? If I'm what you want then let her go!"

"Because this isn't just about you and I, Osiris," Mahdi answered, trying out Yusei's new nickname for good measure. He seemed to like it because seconds later he was nodding approvingly. "Because this concerns her too."

Aki realized that she awoke in a middle of a conversation. What had Mahdi told Yusei...and how much? She wondered if Yusei had already been able to guess who Mahdi might have been...because this was something she thought about and the pieces seemed to fit the puzzle.

"So you're saying you're not just holding her hostage to coerce me into duelling you?" Yusei asked.

"Of course not," Mahdi shook his head, "Why would I need her if you and I were going to be duelling this evening anyway? No, it's definitely more _interesting _than that, Osiris. You see, your girlfriend is _also_ alike to you and I. What a coincidence, don't you think?"

"What?" Yusei's eyes widened.

_I'm alike to what?_ Aki was wondering with anxiety, _What's happening? _She tried voicing her questions but all that came out was an incomprehensible murmur.

"Oh yes!" Mahdi cackled, "The three of us are having a nice reunion! The three of the Ennead, together at last! She," he turned and pointed straight at Aki, "She is the reincarnation of the Goddess Isis. I assume no introductions are necessary."

Yusei and Aki were now staring at each other, shocked to the bone.

"Yes! Not only did you, Osiris, come after me..." Mahdi resumed laughing with glee, "But you brought your girlfriend with you to the Human Realm! How sweet...it's like the two of you can't keep away from each other. Well, personally I find it kind of revolting."

_Osiris and Isis...the Ancient Egyptian Gods_? Aki's thoughts were racing, _Is he saying that Yusei and I are somehow reincarnated as them? How can it be? They're just mythological deities...they're not real! It doesn't make any sense!_

Yusei, meanwhile, rationalized a different conclusion. A conclusion that did not deal with truths, lies or probabilities...all of these were irrelevant to him. It echoed his realization about the true character of Mahdi and discounted his supposed divine status or powers.

"In fact, you know what's funny?" Mahdi went on with his happy ramble and sighed dreamily, "If she had never come after me I would never have figured out who you were! You can thank her for everything that's happening to the two of you right now!"

Yusei's eyes darted to Aki and she quivered with shame and guilt, quickly looking away from him. _Oh god, Yusei...I'm so sorry_, she thought_, But it's true...I've made a grave mistake._

"Aki," Yusei called out to her but she was too embarrassed to meet his eyes. "Aki, none of this is your fault."

Mahdi's smile slowly vanished.

"You did nothing wrong," Yusei told her gently and, with that, Aki gathered the courage to look at him. Her eyes began watering. "It was all him," Yusei transferred a deadly glare to Mahdi, "And I will save you from him. It doesn't matter what he-"

"Fate has brought you here, Osiris," Mahdi interrupted their intimate conversation. A deep frown coloured his features. "No..._both _of you," he awarded Aki with a quick look, "What I tell you is something both of you have always subconsciously known. This is all fate and you _must_ feel it to be true."

Aki averted her eyes from Mahdi's piercing stare while Yusei turned his attention to their enemy. "I feel nothing, Mahdi," he said firmly and his eyes narrowed.

Mahdi's face hardened and there was not a trace of amusement or content remaining. "You're in denial," he said slowly, "You have come to me to get the answers you've been looking for all your life. _That's_ why you're here. You could do nothing to resist it!"

"No. No, Mahdi, I came here _for her,_" Yusei gestured at Aki, "And for her _only_."

Mahdi bared his teeth with anger while Aki shook her head, tearfully thinking, _Yusei…you've come to risk your life...for me? How can you do such a thing? Why?_

At that Yusei activated a Magic card, carrying on with a duel. "I play Junk Barrage and equip it to my Speed Warrior!" he ordered while a cannon appeared over Speed Warrior's shoulders.

"Are you…_denying_ that fate has brought you here?" Mahdi asked quietly.

"Speed Warrior's attack doubles during the first turn it is summoned. So its attack is 1800 points," Yusei ignored his question and pointed to the cybernetic eye monster on Mahdi's field, "Speed Warrior, destroy his Bowganian!"

"Don't you dare…" Mahdi suddenly threatened and one of his hidden cards flipped up, "Don't you even _dare _deny what I have told you, Osiris! Continuous Trap card open: Fearful Earthbound. Each time your monster attacks you receive 500 points of damage."

Yusei felt a freezing wave of shock sweep over him and quickly looked at Aki, wide-eyed.

"Yusei…?" Aki mumbled into the tape, reading his panic and suddenly feeling frightened. She didn't understand why he suddenly looked at her like that. This was a look impossibly rare to Yusei...it was almost foreign.

"You know what this means, don't you?" Mahdi questioned Yusei, "It means you get real damage again thanks to _her_," he said and pointed to Aki.

Aki winced. _What's going on? _She thought with alarm, _Why would Yusei receive real damage because of…me?_ She quickly looked about herself – or at least much as she could with her binds constraining her – and saw that there were still some strange wires attached to her. Did they have something to do with it?

"The three of us are playing a fun game, Izayoi Aki," Mahdi decided to address her now and Aki stared at him, "This is how it works: you will materialize each duel damage I inflict on him. I told you I knew how your psychic powers worked, didn't I?"

Aki whimpered and began thrashing wildly in her binds. She suddenly understood what it was that Mahdi meant when he said that she'd help him kill Yusei.

"An electric shock will pass through you, you'll make it real and, with each time this happens, I'll increase the voltage," Mahdi began grinning again and glanced to Yusei, "Last time it was 30 volts. This time it will be 60. You don't want to make it to 450…trust me."

"MAHDI!" Yusei was so furious his scream echoed throughout the whole warehouse and could easily be heard from outside, "Mahdi, stop this!" Unable to help himself Yusei made steps towards them. Mahdi noticed his advance and sighed, once again bringing out his knife and lightly running his thumb over the sharp blade.

Yusei stopped dead in his tracks, panicking, while Mahdi said, "Let's continue this."

At that very instant Aki felt like something exploded inside her head. It was a blinding pain and she let out a scream, feeling her whole body helplessly twisting, but it was less than a second before she lost her consciousness.

"Aki!" Yusei screamed and shielded his face when a dark blast smashed into him and threw him through the air. He hit the ground with hard impact but quickly began getting back to his feet despite pain surging throughout his body. His Life Points went down to 2500.

"I'm having a lot of fun, are you?" Mahdi asked with an amused smirk.

Yusei looked at Aki's now unconscious figure again and clenched his fists so hard that his knuckles turned white. Had he not been wearing gloves he would have easily drawn blood. It suddenly dawned to him that he no longer even cared about _anything_ Mahdi had told him – none of it was even _remotely_ important to him anymore. Ever since this whole arc had begun he wanted nothing more than to get to the bottom of this: to find out the secrets of the Sky Dragon, the reasons behind sacrificial duels, and their mysterious enemy… but it just no longer mattered. Yusei had never believed in heaven or hell but today he _knew_ that there was hell on Earth. Hell was seeing the person you love most being hurt...and being unable to do anything for the fear of losing her. Hell was watching her entire body convulse as she was being tortured. Yusei knew that for as long as he lived that he would _never _forget witnessing that. And he vowed to never let it happen to her again. Nothing else simply mattered. In the end, she was who he would give up everything for.

"Speed Warrior destroys Bowganian," he commanded and watched as Speed Warrior returned to his side of the field after obliterating Mahdi's monster into pieces.

"I don't care, it was in Defence mode," Mahdi shrugged.

"My Equip magic activates," Yusei announced, "When a monster equipped with Junk Barrage destroys your monster, it inflicts damage equal to half of the destroyed monster's attack points."

"What?" Mahdi was taken aback by the turnaround.

"That means you get 650 points of damage, Mahdi," Yusei informed and Mahdi looked angry as 650 Life Points peacefully drained from his 4000, leaving him at 3350 now. Yusei honestly regretted that he didn't have the power to inflict actual pain on him.

"Are you done?" Mahdi was the one to ask this question now, through clenched teeth.

"At the end of Battle Phase, Speed Warrior's attack returns to normal. And so I will set two cards face down and end my turn," Yusei finished and two hidden cards appeared.

[Yusei Fudo]

[**End of Turn One**: Speed Warrior (Lvl.2) ATK900/DEF300 in Attack Mode; 2 Face down Cards; 2 Cards in hand; LP2500]

"Don't upset me, _Osiris_," Mahdi warned him.

"My name is Yusei," Yusei coldly corrected him.

For a second it looked like Mahdi was about to go ballistic but he suppressed his anger and, with a more neutral expression, drew his card.

[Mahdi]

[**Beginning of Turn Two**: 0 Monsters of field; "Fearful Earthbound" Continuous Trap card on the field/ 1 Face down Card; 3 Cards in hand; LP3350]

"I'm Summoning Dark Effigy in Attack mode," Mahdi said and a Level 4 monster – in a form of a cube-like geometric shape – appeared. Its attack points were 1500 and its defence points were zero. "If I want to Tribute Summon a Dark monster I can treat Dark Effigy as two tributes," Mahdi raised his eyes to him, "Since one of La Magra's special effects is that it's of _every _attribute – including Dark – it means I can use this."

Yusei said nothing. He was expecting something like this.

"I Tribute Dark Effigy to Summon La Magra," Mahdi announced and activated a black monster card on his duel disk.

The ground began shaking, signifying the monster's appearance, and Yusei worriedly looked up to the fragile ceiling of the warehouse. He hoped that it wouldn't fall in and crush them all to their deaths.

The moving ground brought Aki to her senses and, groaning, she blinked her eyes open. Another few seconds of disorientation and she remembered what was going on and why she seemed to be going through fainting spells. Any electricity sent through her head instantly knocked her out although not without brief pain.

Yusei noticed Aki coming to and watched her worriedly, almost completely oblivious to the appearance of Mahdi's ace monster.

A gigantic fluid form of La Magra emerged. Its constantly fluctuating essence varied between a black smoke, a bloody waterfall and an indiscernible solid shape. It hissed and sighed forebodingly and its attack and defense were both at 3000 points.

"Do you like it, Osiris?" Mahdi questioned while looking at La Magra lovingly, "It's mine. I made it. It's the container of my powers."

"That isn't my name, Mahdi," Yusei retorted, ignoring his enemy's obvious pleas for approval.

Anger registered on Mahdi's face again. "You're afraid of what this name means to you," he decided, "It's easier for you to deny it than face the truth."

"That name means nothing to me," Yusei said, "It's not who I am."

Mahdi's fury was more than evident but still he rationally ordered, "La Magra attack his Speed Warrior."

Yusei instantly opened a trap card. "I activate Scrap-Iron Scarecrow!" he proclaimed, "I can negate your attack and then set this card face-down again." There was absolutely nothing in his plans for allowing any more attacks – it would mean hurting Aki and Yusei wouldn't let anything like that happen again. At the same time he knew it wasn't going to be easy because he figured that Mahdi's deck was a Burn deck – loaded with damaging Magic and Trap cards that inflicted direct damage. La Magra seemed to be his only real attacking monster.

Mahdi growled. "I end my turn," he spat.

[Mahdi]

[**End of Turn Two**: La Magra (Lvl.9) ATK3000/DEF3000 in Attack mode; "Fearful Earthbound" Continuous Trap card on the field/ 1 Face down Card; 1 Card in hand; LP3350]

"Aki," Yusei called, not caring that she couldn't make a coherent reply to him or that Mahdi could listen in.

Aki, who was worriedly inspecting La Magra, quickly gazed at Yusei and found his determined blue eyes locked on her.

"Are you...okay?" he asked her, feeling anguished.

Aki tried to smile as she nodded, not wanting to worry him. _But are you okay, Yusei?_ she thought, grief-stricken as she looked over him. He seemed even more-so rumpled now and there was a bleeding cut on his forehead that he seemed to be oblivious to.

Yusei shook his head at her response, closing his eyes in pain. "Aki, I won't let him hurt you anymore," he swore to her from the bottom of his heart. He hoped to do everything in his power to keep this promise.

Burning tears streamed down Aki's face and she shook her head as well, wishing she could speak out to him. _Yusei, my love..._ she was crying inconsolably,_ Don't you understand? I'm hurting __you__!_ How could he be so protective of her? So _forgiving_?

"This is so romantic," Mahdi made a crooked smile as he observed the two of them, "Too bad you won't be able to do much, Osiris."

Yusei gritted his teeth. "It's my turn!" he declared and drew a card.

[Yusei Fudo]

[**Beginning of Turn Two**: Speed Warrior (Lvl.2) ATK900/DEF300 in Attack Mode; 2 Face down Cards; 3 Cards in hand; LP2500]

"I will play my Magic card, Release Restraint Wave," Yusei said and gestured to his Speed Warrior equipped with Junk Barrage, "I can destroy my Equip Magic card in order to destroy all Magic and Trap cards you control, Mahdi."

"If you think you can get rid of my Continuous Trap this easily you're mistaken," Mahdi said and activated his face down card, "I activate my Counter Trap card, Dark Bribe! I can negate the activation and effect of your Magic card and destroy it."

Yusei stood unhinged as Mahdi's effect destroyed his Release Restraint Wave. Thankfully, the duel effects only materialized with Life Points' impacting damage. At the same time Yusei got exactly what he wanted as a result – he saw that there was no Discord to keep him from Synchro Summoning.

"Since I'm so nice you get to draw one card as a result of Dark Bribe," Mahdi informed him with a casual shrug, "That is, I'm giving you an advantage to summon your Egyptian God card against me, Osiris."

Yusei drew a card.

"That Egyptian God card is a representation of your divine power," Mahdi decided to share and smiled sweetly, "Since La Magra is mine, the Sky Dragon is _yours, _Osiris. I'm honoured that you'd use it against me. Although, I have to say, you're pretty shallow for putting your own name on the card!"

Yusei nonchalantly added the newly drawn card to his hand. A plan was forming in his head and he knew what to do.

Mahdi pursed his lips. "Do you know who _you_ are to _me_?" he questioned impatiently, "The mythology behind our destiny? Osiris was…and always will be Set's greatest opponent. Do you know what this means?"

Aki was watching Yusei with bewilderment. He seemed so calm and focused now, somehow completely unaffected by anything Mahdi was saying. How?

"I activate my Magic card, Cards of Consonance," Yusei said, ignoring his opponent, "By sending one monster from my hand to the Graveyard I get to draw 2 cards." He discarded Bolt Hedgehog – a small Level 2 monster with 800 attack and defence points – and then continued after drawing two cards, "And then I summon Hyper Synchron in attack mode." A Level 4 Tuner machine-monster appeared with 1600 attack points and 800 defence points. "When there is a face-up Tuner monster on my side of the field, Bolt Hedgehog can be Special Summoned from my Graveyard. Bolt Hedgehog, return," he went on and Bolt Hedgehog appeared next to Speed Warrior and Hyper Synchron.

Yusei now had three monsters on his side of the field and two cards in his hand.

"You are my _antithesis_," Mahdi answered his own question. He appeared irked that Yusei wasn't drooling for his every word. "It means that you and I are destined to fight each other. Always. You're the Ying to my Yang. We are the opposites and we _balance_ each other out. And now…" he gestured at the three monsters, "You will show me your true power, _Osiris_."

Yusei slowly raised his eyes to him. "Do you want to know what I think, Mahdi?" he asked. It was time to give him a piece of his mind.

"Please, you can call me Set interchangeably with Mahdi if you'd like, _Osiris_," Mahdi smiled sweetly at him, pleased that he was finally being paid attention to.

Yusei drew in a deep breath. "I think that you're a sadistic madman," he began.

Mahdi's smile became saturated with pride. "Charmed," he said.

"No," Yusei said, "I don't care if you had a reason to kill people, Mahdi. I don't care if you're some pissed off God of Chaos, if you were looking for some company, or if you have some warped utilitarian philosophy."

The happy smile slowly began vanishing from Mahdi's face.

Aki's eyes widened as she listened.

"No, Mahdi, I _really_ don't care what your morality is or what you were trying to achieve," Yusei went on, narrowing his eyes with cold determination, "It does _not_ change the fact that you're an obsessed, sexually frustrated psychopath who's a danger to himself and to everyone around him. And I will do everything I can to put you out of your misery."

Aki gasped. She couldn't believe what she was hearing – how could Yusei be so brave as to tell something like this to their armed enemy's face?

Mahdi stood completely dumbfounded . "Um...what?" he finally managed, obviously shocked and unsuspecting of something like this either.

"You're a disturbed individual and a stalker with visions of grandeur and narcissism," Yusei said, "And I will destroy you."

This was _nothing_ like Yusei's general moral philosophy. Aki understood what his state of mind must have been at this point – he probably saw no redemption for Mahdi. He saw no good and no twisted sense of morality that could be turned around. Mahdi was not somebody who could be saved or convinced of the wrong of his ways. They were dealing with pure evil and not even a speck of light could change the infinite darkness. And now, when Mahdi wanted to hear praises, adoration and be thanked for what he'd told them, Yusei was basically saying nothing other than _Fuck you_.

Mahdi was silent for a long moment before his features suddenly twisted ugly with rage. "Are you saying that you're _denying _the truth of your existence?" he questioned, his voice breaking as he was apparently losing it, "That…YOU'RE DENYING WHO YOU ARE?"

"I have the free will to believe in anything I choose to believe," Yusei answered, "I have the _freedom_ to make any decision and any choice."

"There is no choice, this is _destiny_!" Mahdi suddenly screamed, now borderline hysterical, "You can't run away from what is meant to be! YOU CAN'T JUST UNCHOOSE WHAT YOU ARE."

"That's exactly what I'm doing," Yusei said.

"What?" Mahdi continued screaming as he grabbed the sides of his head in agitation, "You choose to believe in the ridiculousness of the _Signers_? Of being a vessel for that ridiculous Crimson Dragon-god-whatever-the-fuck-it-is? ARE YOU KIDDING ME? You think _that's_ what's more plausible, that _that's_ what you are?"

"My Signer bond connects me with my friends, the people I care about and the people that are _my life_," Yusei replied and took a quick glance at Aki. Aki caught it and felt her heart yanking in her chest, unable to understand what this meant. "But this, _this _supposed destiny," Yusei emphasized and turned back to Mahdi, frowning, "Connects me to you and I want _none _of it. I don't care if what you say is the ultimate truth. It matters not. I have _nothing_ in common with you, Mahdi, and I want nothing to do with you. Ever."

Mahdi was silent now. His usual sickly-pasty face was red. Aside from anger and agitation he looked almost…hurt. "But," he finally spoke up and his voice was quiet and filled with hesitation, "But…you're my antithesis. You…you're the only one there is for me."

Yusei suddenly thought back to what Mokuba Kaiba once told them. He told them that his older brother, Seto Kaiba, was Yugi Mutou's or Atem's antithesis. That they were equals…opposites…greatest rivals and that, in a metaphysical sense, they couldn't exist without one another. Yusei abruptly understood the ultimate archetypes that seemed to transcend time.

He shook his head. "Believe what you wish but _my_ antithesis is and _always_ will be my best friend and rival Jack Atlas," Yusei answered. As he spoke those words he understood how true they were and how there would be nothing to change them. "There will never be anyone else, Mahdi, and I actually feel bad for you," he concluded and narrowed his eyes, "You are _pitiful_."

Mahdi was staring at him in silence. Despair was evident on his face. He was actually shaken. Hurt.

Yusei looked down at the cards in his hand. "My Signer bond will lead me to victory," he said and activated the silver Synchro card on the duel disk. He then looked back to Aki with gentleness. "And it…will set us free," he promised her.

_There is nothing that could destroy our connection_, Aki thought and nodded to him, _Yusei…I believe in you_.

"You're…Synchro Summoning?" Mahdi questioned dazedly. His voice was almost inaudible.

"I'm tuning my Level 2 Speed Warrior, to my Level 4 Hyper Synchron and to my Level 2 Bolt Hedgehog," Yusei said and – feeling empowered by Aki and the confirmation of his bond with his friends – began chanting for his loyal Stardust to appear. "Clustering hopes will become a new shining star. Become the path its light shines upon. Synchro Summon! Take flight, Stardust Dragon!"

His signature silver dragon appeared and now shined on his side of the field. Its Level was 8 and its attack points were 2500 and defence points at 2000.

"That's not all," Yusei insisted and activated a new Magic card from his hand, "Remove Trap allows me to destroy one face-up Trap card on the field. I choose your Continuous Trap card, Fearful Earthbound, Mahdi!" There was no way he was going to let this Trap keep plunging at his and Aki's Life Points whenever he'd attack.

Mahdi was saying nothing and just observed what was going on before him in some sort of haze. He only had La Magra monster on his field now and no hidden cards.

"When Hyper Synchron is used as a Synchro material of a dragon-type monster, the Synchro monster gains 800 Attack points," Yusei announced and Stardust Dragon roared as its attack went up to 3300. It was stronger than La Magra now.

_He did it!_ Aki thought with elation, _Yusei is going to defeat that monster using Stardust!_

"Stardust Dragon, attack La Magra," Yusei commanded and the monster went in for attack, "Shooting Sonic!"

"Stop," Mahdi suddenly interrupted, "I activate La Magra's special effect."

Yusei was taken aback. _What special effect?_ he thought with bewilderment.

_Oh no_, Aki thought, remembering her own duel with Mahdi, _Since this La Magra is the original it has some hidden effects. But more than two? What is the third one? _

"Once per turn, by paying 1500 Life Points, I can end the Battle Phase," Mahdi said bitterly and his Life Points depleted to 1850.

Yusei was shocked by the sudden turn of events but retained his composure. "Then…I end my turn," he concluded.

[Yusei Fudo]

[**End of Turn Two**: Stardust Dragon (Lvl.8) ATK3300/DEF2000 in Attack Mode; 2 Face down Cards; 1 Card in hand; LP2500]

"I gave La Magra three special effects," Mahdi decided to explain. He still seemed kind of stupefied, almost as if under influence. Yusei thought it was a welcome change from his usual creepy-happy vibe.

"One, I gave it all the flexibility of attributes, simplifying its Summoning condition," Mahdi went on, "Two, with its destruction it allows me to activate a Magic card from my hand or Graveyard...my favourite effect, really. And three..." he frowned, "As you've just witnessed, it depletes my Life Points but it is a necessary effect."

"I'm surprised with the legitimacy of those," Yusei remarked.

"If I could I would have bestowed it with infinite attack points. Or allowed it the ability to give me thousands of Life Points each turn, among hundreds of other effects," Mahdi responded, "But I couldn't. The Great Balance exists in all things...even such as these."

"What a pity," Yusei answered somewhat uncaringly, still keeping his detached demeanour.

"It's the existential way of the universe, Osiris," Mahdi said, now apparently unbothered by the fact that Yusei didn't seem to care, "Not all power is boundless – there are always limits and constraints to give both sides equal chances."

"So you allocate equal chances to both of us since, according to you, we're the opposites," Yusei summarized.

Mahdi was surprisingly calm now. "As I've already said it's the way of existence. The Great Balance assigns that there has to be an equal amount of evil and good...the Ying and the Yang...thesis and antithesis, of _any _opposing forces," he said, "Whenever the Balance is off the scale there is a surge of one of the opposites to strike it back into equality. Which is why you're here, Osiris: you're here to stop me because, following my awakening, I've tipped off the scales with what I've been doing."

It still didn't quite explain why Aki – if she really was a reincarnation – was here if it was just the matter of two opposites. But Yusei decided not to pursue this, figuring it would come up sooner or later. "Whether or not that is the truth does not matter," he said instead, "But _you_ also believe in the end result. According to you I have to tip the scales back. That comes with your defeat."

Mahdi glanced at his hand of cards. "Yes…my defeat," he repeated strangely and drew a card.

[Mahdi]

[**Beginning of Turn Three**: La Magra (Lvl.9) ATK3000/DEF3000 in Attack mode; 0 Cards on Field; 2 Cards in hand; LP1850]

"I play a Magic card, Allure of the Darkness," Mahdi said, "I get to draw 2 cards and then remove from play one Dark monster from my hand. So I draw."

He drew two additional cards and took a look at them. "Lucky me drew two of these monsters," he announced, "So I'm sending one to the Graveyard and then I'm summoning a Familiar Knight in Attack mode." A Level 3 Dark warrior-monster appeared in full knight attire. It even held a shield and a sword. Its attack points were at 1200 and defence points at 1400.

Yusei was analyzing what Mahdi's strategy would be. He figured that he would somehow increase the strength of La Magra and have it destroy Stardust before using his Familiar Knight to direct attack. But Yusei had no plan of letting that happen: aside from Scrap-Iron Scarecrow trap that could block any attack, he had Synchro Striker Unit trap - it would become an Equip card to Stardust and give it additional 1000 Attack points. Unless Mahdi's plan included adding extra 1300 points to La Magra _after_ getting around Scrap-Iron Scarecrow then no damage would happen.

"And then I will play my Magic card – Shooting Star Bow," Mahdi said, "I can equip it to a monster and then, by decreasing the attack of the equipped monster by 1000 points, the monster can attack your Life Points directly."

Yusei frowned but remained calm. Synchro Striker Unit couldn't protect him in this case but he still had Scrap-Iron Scarecrow which could stop any attack. At the same time this wasn't very good news – La Magra equipped with Shooting Star Bow could potentially impact 2000 points of direct damage. Also…the Magic card Mahdi was using for his purposes sounded almost like a perversion of Yusei's own monster, Shooting Star Dragon, and it disgusted him.

"So I will equip Shooting Star Bow to…" Mahdi paused, thinking for a long moment about something that seemed an obvious choice, "To…Familiar Knight."

"What?" Yusei gasped. Why Familiar Knight? Did it have some hidden special effect? Why not a stronger monster to inflict _more_ damage?

Aki was worried as she observed the duel, remembering the way Mahdi mind-tricked her as well. He never did anything simply or without a reason. There was obviously some advantage for him to enable a direct attack for Familiar Knight and not La Magra. Aki could only hope that Yusei would be able to deflect any attack that may come.

Yusei noticed Aki's concerned expression and it further added to his own alarm but he forced himself to remain composed.

"Shooting Star Bow equips to Familiar Knight and decreases its attack points to 200," Mahdi observed as the monster's stats dramatically changed, "And now it will attack you directly, Osiris…and you know what the means," he sighed, "She gets 100 volts this time."

"No," Yusei quickly disrupted before the Familiar Knight could go for attack and electrocute Aki, "Scrap-Iron Scarecrow activates! Once per turn I can negate your monster's attack-"

"What, you think I forgot about that?" Mahdi smiled lightly, "I play my Quick-play Magic card – Mystical Space Typhoon. I can destroy one Magic or Trap card on the field so naturally I destroy Scrap-Iron Scarecrow. Familiar Knight, attack him directly!"

As bits of Solid Vision flew past him with Scrap-Iron Scarecrow's destruction Yusei flinched, feeling tendrils of panic ripping into his very soul. Stardust…he could use Stardust's effect to destroy the magic card. But that'd require losing Stardust until the end of the turn and being wide open for a direct attack from La Magra. There was no way around it. It had to happen.

"Aki, I'm so sorry," he said, feeling as if a knife was twisting deep inside of him. He had let her down. He was allowing her to be hurt and he was powerless to stop it. "Aki, I'm…so sorry…" he whispered, guilty and heartbroken.

Aki tried to convey her acceptance and to sooth him through her eyes, _No…no, Yusei, you did nothing wrong. Please, don't worry about me…I'm hurting you too. _At that same millisecond the electric charge hit her. She screamed and her body was in a spasm. There was an unbearable strike of headache and the one second it lasted felt to her like a lifetime. And then everything went blank.

"Aki? Aki?" Yusei stretched his arm to her almost as if he could reach her. A piece of him was dying. He had to clench his eyes shut from horror and to do everything in his power to halt a flow of tears. He couldn't see the Familiar Knight charging at him with its weapon drawn…and he couldn't bring himself to care about it.

And then something suddenly happened.

The pain was so immediate and so fierce that Yusei was incapable of registering it at first. His eyes snapped open and his next breath was a sharp intake and his throat suddenly clogged up. What happened…was it happening to him?

He saw the sinister Familiar Knight standing obscenely close to him. The monster was real. It materialized…and it attacked him…directly.

Eyes wide, Yusei dazedly looked down and saw the handle of the sword sticking out of his stomach. _But…where is…the blade…_ he wondered numbly.

The materialized Solid Vision of the Familiar Knight flickered and the monster rapidly pulled out its blood-stained sword. The swift movement swayed Yusei and brought him such severe agony that his vision turned red.

The monster retreated to Mahdi's side of the field. Mahdi, meanwhile, was saying something to him...something unintelligible...his voice didn't carry...everything seemed so far away...so impossibly far away...

Yusei crumbled to his knees, shakily embracing his bleeding abdomen, while everything before his eyes began dissolving into darkness.

* * *

_Yeah...I feel really bad for both Aki and Yusei. Won't say anything more, it kind of depresses me._

_Three more chapters until the end of Part I!_

_I hope you keep reading this story!_


	22. Chapter 21: Blood runs thicker than mud

_Author's Note:_

_This is Chapter 21 of "The Kingdom [Be]Comes". _

_So it has been almost two months since I last updated…and I apologize. This wasn't an easy chapter to write with everything happening and I wanted to reveal so much that I realized that it wasn't doable about half way through. So I had to start all over again. It was also close to exam period and everything was due at the same time and I was really struggling. _

_But finally it's here and it's quite long. It's still kind of depressing and dark but there is now a light at the end of the tunnel. _

_I hope you like this chapter and that you haven't given up on this story. In case you no longer remember what this story was about: it's about card games. I hope that clears up any confusion…_

_As always, thank you so much for reading and for all of your amazing reviews and questions. They make me so happy :)_

_Enjoy reading!_

_**NineInchNailed**__._

_PS: Also, Yu-Gi-Oh 5D's unfortunately ended but it was an amazing ride. I will truly miss these series which I found to be on par and, in some ways, better than the original. And the unforgettable characters of 5D's are sure to live on in the fans' hearts. We will fondly remember them and creatively expand on the fantastic universe with any artistic medium: be it parodies, music videos, art, music, or fanfictions :)_

_And I don't want to spoil the ending for anyone but the Aki and Yusei ending made me both happy and sad. I'm sure those who have seen it know what I mean._

_Goodbye Yu-Gi-Oh 5D's and thank you for everything! _

* * *

"_**I assess the power of a will by how much resistance, pain, torture it endures and knows how to turn to its advantage."**_

_~Friedrich Nietzsche_

* * *

Yusei couldn't breathe.

Sharp paralyzing pain spread all across his midsection. Fighting to stay conscious he gasped for air but it was as if he was in oxygen-less atmosphere. "Aki," Yusei tried to speak but words didn't come out. He tried again, wheezed against a slimy knot in his throat, and then with immense struggle managed to draw in a deep shuddering breath.

A cough erupted from him, forcing viscous fluid into his mouth. Yusei collapsed on the ground, squeezing his eyes shut as with each struggling cough his diaphragm contracted, magnifying pain into pure agony.

Mahdi gloomily observed the scene before he let out a heavy sigh. "I end my turn."

[Mahdi]

[**End of Turn Three**: La Magra (Lvl.9) ATK3000/DEF3000 in Attack mode; Familiar Knight (Lvl.3) ATK200 (Equipped with Shooting Star Bow)/DEF1400 in Attack mode; 0 Facedown cards; 0 Cards in hand; LP1850]

Mahdi walked over to comatose Aki and peeled the adhesive tape from her mouth. "No more sleeping," he said as he gently tapped her face until she stirred.

At first Aki couldn't understand what was happening. She was completely disoriented and felt like her brain had been scrambled. But then slowly it all started coming back. She blinked rapidly and Mahdi's face finally came into focus. He was staring at her and his expression was a disturbing mix of amusement and sadness.

"Good morning," he greeted cheerfully.

Aki flinched, remembering. _Yusei…where is Yusei…_she tried to move her head and look over Mahdi's shoulder as he was completely blocking her field of vision. She remembered that Yusei had to receive direct damage and that she was forced to materialize it again. She hoped he was okay and that she didn't end up hurting him too much.

"I'm giving you a permission to talk now," Mahdi said and Aki realized that her lips were free. She instantly opened her mouth to shower him with the foulest of things when he suddenly moved out of her way.

What Aki saw then was the most horrible thing she had ever laid her eyes on.

Yusei was lying face down on the ground in the pool of his own blood. He wasn't moving.

Aki paled. For a few moments she was paralyzed with horror. And then she let out a heartwrenching scream, feeling like her soul had just been ripped out. "YUSEI, NO!" she cried hysterically, writhing against her binds, "Yusei, no! No! Oh god, oh god, oh my god-"

Mahdi smacked his hand over her mouth to quiet her but she continued screaming against his vile flesh, twisting as inconsolable sobs convulsed through her body.

"Maybe I removed the tape too soon," Mahdi remarked coldly, "Aren't you proud of what _you've_ done? It's all your fault." With that he turned, grabbed the roll of sticky tape that he used on her, and began walking towards the bleeding Signer.

Yusei slowly opened his eyes and panted as his vision swam: perspective stretched as if someone was playing with a focus on an old camera. He watched as dark liquid gradually spread out on the ground. It seemed to be coming from underneath him. It looked like motor oil. It was funny…why was he lying in motor oil? _I must have slipped and fell_, Yusei reasoned, _I must be more careful next time…_

And then he heard screaming. It was from far away…so far away…but then it became louder. And louder. Yusei's faded eyes widened as he suddenly recognized that voice. _Aki!_

The duel wasn't over.

Time was running out.

He had to stand up.

Yusei tried to move his limbs but his whole body felt heavy and sluggish. _Get up_, he thought, gritting his teeth, _Get up!_ His hands formed into fists and, busting his knuckles under his weight, he began pushing himself up. His muscles tensed and Yusei gasped when his stomach burst with throbbing pain the likes of which he hazily seemed to recall. He tried getting his legs under him but managed to make it only to his knees. When his eyes finally adjusted and colour resolved, Yusei scanned about himself and realized that the growing puddle around him wasn't motor oil. It was blood. His blood. And it was everywhere.

"Yusei!" Aki screamed. Tears streamed down her face. He wasn't dead, he was still alive…thank heavens he was still alive…but he was terribly injured. Aki shook with anguish. She…did this to him.

Yusei turned his head in the direction of Aki's voice but he could only see an indistinct red shape. That was when the truth finally seized him: Mahdi stabbed him. He chose a monster that, with Aki's materialization, could inflict such physical damage versus attacks that only knocked him down. With a shaking hand Yusei wiped at his mouth, noticing that he also coughed up some blood and that it was what prevented him from breathing earlier. The salty copper flavour of it was the only thing he could taste now. Yusei looked down and with shock caught the sight of the torn flesh on the right side of his abdomen. The blood was gashing out and he quickly applied pressure on the wound with his gloved hands. He then remembered that the sword appeared to have gone through…and touched his lower back, finding the exit wound.

"What are we going to do now, Osiris?" Mahdi's chilling low voice startled him and Yusei looked up to see a shadow standing over him. Yusei had to focus his eyes against the blur before he could see the white-haired man.

Mahdi crouched and his black eyes traveled to the injury he had created. "You made me do this," he sighed, "You wouldn't listen to me and now you're dying and we can't continue our duel."

"Go t-" Yusei tried to say. He was alarmed when he heard the sound of his voice. It was so strange and feeble…it was as if it wasn't his own. Yusei swallowed and attempted again. "Go to hell," he finally managed. He never normally said petty things like this but he couldn't think straight. He was at his ends.

"Here," Mahdi said gently and brought out the roll of sticky tape, "You can bind your wounds with this. It'll keep the blood in, bacteria out, and buy you some time before we get you to the hospital."

Yusei blinked through the haze and gaped at his enemy. He was floating in and out of foggy consciousness, delirious with pain, and still found this to be unbelievable. He now had to chase away his newly formed and bizarre image of Mahdi as a batterer being apologetic for his abuse, a typical symptom of contrition which usually involved victim blaming. The whole situation just kept getting more and more psychotic.

Aki, meanwhile, forcefully calmed herself. Being hysterical would do nothing to help Yusei and would only hinder any attempts. She fervently began thinking of what to do. If Mahdi had left the knife behind…but no, he carried it with him at all times. She tried finding a sharp edge on the arm rest so she could loosen the ropes, but there was no use. There were still her powers, however, but she felt frightened of their potential after what she did to Yusei. _But I was able to heal once_, she remembered the one time some good came of them, _I have to try it again. But…how? _It happened during hers and Crow's duel with Sherry on the Arc Cradle but it was entirely accidental and inexplicable. It were also really minor wounds. Restraining her tears, Aki concentrated on Yusei's crippled figure, pleading for him to get better and for his injuries to go away. _Somehow…please, _she agonized, _Somehow…anyhow!_

Mahdi ripped off a large portion of the adhesive tape. "Here, I'll help you," he softly suggested to Yusei and leaned towards him.

"Don't…touch me," Yusei hissed and, gathering the remains of his rapidly deteriorating strength, smacked his hand away.

Mahdi froze and regarded him with scorn. "I'm just trying to help," he defended himself, "Don't you understand? I-" he suddenly stopped talking and fixated his gaze on the Signer's neck. "…What's this?"

Yusei followed Mahdi's stare but was unable to piece things together. He shut his eyes and held them closed for a long moment. The fog in his head was becoming worse…Yusei involuntarily wondered if he could lay his head down and go to sleep. Just a nap…for a few short minutes…

"This…" Mahdi whispered in bewilderment, "Why do you have this?" He reached and flicked his fingers against the Eye of Horus pendant. It was Aki's birthday present. _It's an ancient symbol of protection…and since you usually find yourself in trouble I thought this would be something useful_, Aki's voice suddenly swam out in Yusei's head.

Yusei pried his eyes open to see the image of Mahdi's surprised face.

"Why?" the Signer asked.

Mahdi's mouth opened and he just gaped at him, abruptly ecstatic. "This explains it!"

Before Yusei could form a sentence, in a swift movement Mahdi suddenly reached out and grabbed his throat in a tight grip. Instantly Yusei retaliated by swinging a fist at his ribs but he missed: not only did Mahdi's long limbs give him a far reach but Yusei's strength was diminishing so quickly that the action alone left him breathless and even more lightheaded.

"STOP IT, LET HIM GO!" Aki cried out, desperately trying to break free from her binds. _Heal! Heal! Why is nothing happening? Why isn't it working?_

Mahdi completely ignored her. "It's your eyes," he told Yusei as he attentively studied him within his reach, "They're a give-away. They reveal exactly who you are. I've been looking for you far and wide. I've done so much to find you. And even when you've come to me by yourself and pranced right in front of me, I _still_ didn't see you… And now I finally know why."

"Psychotic episodes…tend to impair judgment," Yusei offered his explanation while his eyes scanned the area about him. Maybe he could find a piece of metal or some rock to hit this psychopath with instead.

Mahdi grinned wide and suddenly leaned forward and close. Obscenely close. That was when Yusei realized in panic, _He's going to kiss me_.

But he didn't. Instead Mahdi chuckled at his reaction and, looking over him up-close, whispered, "No…it's the Eye of Horus. You've been wearing it all this time and it hid you from me. And I probably would never have found you had your girlfriend not have fucked up."

Yusei attempted to push Mahdi away and threw punches at him. But even though his enemy looked almost like a skeleton it was like hitting a brick wall. And, if anything, that seemed to entertain the white-haired man even more. Ultimately, Yusei settled on returning his hands to put the necessary pressure to his injury and turning his head away as far as Mahdi's hold permitted him. He felt disgusted by the proximity. "Keep Aki…out of this…" Yusei answered, taking ragged breaths, and feeling completely drained.

"So noble and selfless," Mahdi responded and closed his eyes, leaning to his ear. As he inhaled deeply Yusei realized that he was actually _sniffing_ him. "I'm so…_drawn_ to you, Osiris," he whispered, "Opposites attract. You and I are the perfect example of this. I've never felt this way about…anything before."

Hairs stood in the back of Yusei's neck. He felt revulsion in every fibre of his being. "Let go of me," he demanded, with effort conveying his voice as steady and clear, "You sicken me. I want _nothing_…to do with you."

Mahdi sighed and drew back. As the cobalt blue eyes met the black, Mahdi scowled and suddenly began squeezing Yusei's throat. He was shockingly strong for his scrawny-looking frame. "I'm trying to give _meaning_ to your life. And, frankly, I'm more than tired of you denying me."

Yusei's face contorted with pain and black spots started swimming in front of his eyes. _Don't lose consciousness, don't…you can't,_ he kept telling himself.

"How can you do this?" Mahdi asked while nonchalantly strangling him with one hand, and his tone was almost pleading, "And why? Why?"

Yusei wasn't capable of answering, only struggling to breathe and to keep himself from passing out.

"Mahdi, stop it! Please, let him go!" Aki begged, "Stop hurting him!" If only she could break free, if only she could restore Yusei's health, if only she could turn back time and make it so none of this had happened... But there was a way. Instead of trying to heal Yusei, she could have been trying to materialize a monster outside of a duel. Maybe she could make Familiar Knight attack Mahdi. _If there is no good left in me,_ Aki rationalized,_ then I have to use my malevolent power and try making the good out of it._

"I'm not hurting him," Mahdi finally acknowledged her, "He's hurting himself. He's being stubborn." He then turned his head to her without loosening his inhuman grip and noticed the psychic duelist's expression. "What? What, are you going to try materializing a monster to attack me? What, you think I haven't thought of that? That I _forgot_ you can do that?"

Aki winced at his deduction but was forced herself to remain calm. _He could be lying_. _I can't let this chance pass. I have to help Yusei! _She hurriedly tuned her attention to Familiar Knight and concentrated, ordering the monster to materialize and to attack Mahdi.

Mahdi sighed and observed her with a tired expression.

A millisecond passed before another electrical charge hit her and Aki cried out. This time the pain was cosmic and it felt like her head had been split open. Her body convulsed until it couldn't tolerate another assault and she blacked out. And Yusei could barely even register what was happening to her, only convinced that this was it. It was the end. He was going to suffocate now and the last thing he'd see would be those loathsome black eyes, and last thing he'd hear would be Aki's terrified screaming. There was nothing worse than this.

"Negative reinforcement!" Mahdi exclaimed, "I punish you both if you don't do as I ask. How hard is it to understand? Why is nobody listening to me?" He faced Yusei and, after a long moment of deliberation, released him and stood up to his feet.

Yusei fell forward to the ground and, keeping his weight on his hands, began coughing violently.

Mahdi watched him with disappointment clearly reflected on his features. "I didn't want to hurt you," he said, "But you've left me with no choice. And if you want to ease yours and hers suffering then maybe you should _listen_ to what I have to say."

Yusei couldn't respond. Each cough was a spasm and caused such indescribable pain that he stopped moving altogether and could barely take in a single breath. At this point there was only darkness and Mahdi's words were only incomprehensible sounds.

Mahdi studied the blood spreading on the ground and shook his head. "You have ten minutes left, Osiris. At most," he estimated, "I have something to discuss with you and then, pending your decision, I'll get you to the hospital. If you waste my time or don't agree to my conditions then you'll die. Simple enough?"

Coughing finally seized torturing him and shallow breaths began getting into his lungs. With pain lulling him into complete oblivion, Yusei forced himself to drift out of brief unconsciousness. _Come back…_he thought, _Come back. _Still gasping for air, he numbly became aware of sensations returning to his body. He felt like he was floating. His head was spinning intensely. He had to keep his eyes closed to prevent nausea from welling up in him and making him gag. The agony of that action would be too much to handle. _This…happened to you before_…Yusei thought dazedly, _Similar…to fight against…Dark Signer Kiryu. _

"Here, do yourself a favour," Mahdi said and threw a roll of adhesive tape at Yusei's face, "Bind yourself and try to stay awake. And listen to me very carefully."

_You've felt this pain before…after duel with Kiryu…_Yusei's inner voice surfaced once more, _Now you can…resist it…_ he slowly opened his eyes and compelled himself not to close them again. Because with every time he'd close his eyes there was a bigger chance of him never opening them again. _Time is running out. _He slowly began trying to get up again. _Pain is only in your head. Your mind is the best painkiller_, he gathered all of his remaining strength with which he pushed himself up and succeeded on sitting up on his knees.

Mahdi observed him with pity before turning and casually beginning to walk back to his side of the field. "Let me first tell you about the Eye of Horus you're so miraculously wearing," he started, "It is an ancient Egyptian symbol of protection. Its patron was Horus and he protected the people of Egypt from Set."

The sickening taste of copper returned and Yusei wiped at the blood trickling out of the corner of his mouth. Then cradling one arm across the open wound, he clutched to the sticky tape Mahdi so graciously gave him, and tried analyzing the situation. _What's the worst case scenario_, he was trying to determine, _That the damage is to my liver. But it's possible that the blade missed it and just went through…what is the probability of that…? _But that didn't matter because he was still bleeding out and he had to act fast: by that point his shirt was soaked through and sticking to him. He lifted it and with increasingly shaking hands bandaged the tape all around his midsection. Additionally, he began taking in very slow, controlled and deep breaths instead of instinctual shallow ones in order not to hyperventilate. Hyperventilation only caused panic and thus rapid blood flow, something he had to avoid.

Mahdi went on, "Horus was an offspring of Isis and Osiris, by the way. He dedicated his whole life to avenging his father's..._yours_...death." With that he let out a laugh.

For some reason the only thing that lingered in Yusei's mind from Mahdi's story was the sentimentality behind the Eye of Horus. _Aki's gift made me invisible to him, _Yusei faintly touched the pendant he wore around his neck since his 20th birthday, _She protected me_. And then, feeling the outline of the Eye of Horus under his fingers, Yusei suddenly felt like the light came on in his head. He felt wide awake. It was almost as if feeling something so tangible and symbolic, something that connected him to Aki, empowered him. _This is tolerable compared to Kyriu's duel,_ Yusei reasoned, _At least this time I wasn't thrown off the D-Wheel at over 100 kilometres an hour. _And the circumstances were so different: this time his fear was _for_ Aki, not of Kiryu or, respectively, Mahdi.

Mahdi stopped on his side of the field and turned to his wounded opponent with a sweet smile. "This is no longer within range of plausible coincidence," he said, "Whether you like it or not, this is your destiny and it's been saturated in everything in your life. Especially you know what else? The Eye of Horus also represents power. _Royal _power, to be exact. Egyptians wore this symbol so they could be awarded with royal power from the deities."

"Any 'royal power' you speak of..." Yusei started, guessing that it was a take on his title as the current King of Games, "Was not given to me. I fought for it." His voice was clear and firm, no longer just a faint impression. He directed his attention to his now bloodstained deck of cards and caught a sight of the still glowing Crimson Dragon mark on his forearm.

Mahdi shrugged. "Because of who you are the scales were tipped in your favour," he answered, "You were given possibilities denied to others. Couldn't be _just_ your luck, could it? You were always pretty special, no? Things happened to you that never happened to others. And why? Because it was the will of the gods."

"I agree."

Mahdi blinked and stared at Yusei with surprise.

"I agree, it couldn't be just luck," Yusei said, looking up from the red birthmark, "Because it was _never_ luck. Every miracle that happened…it happened because of the bonds between my friends and I."

Mahdi pressed his palms against his temples, almost as if to prevent his head from exploding. "Not…again…" he mumbled, "STOP THAT. Don't make me hurt you again!"

Yusei's clenched his teeth. He's had about enough of being threatened by this unbalanced freak. He still had strength left. He could still fight. Concentrating, he began struggling to his feet. He only had twenty minutes remaining from Jack's offer. And then Mahdi gave him ten minutes…but because he temporarily stopped the blood flow, Yusei rounded that number to Jack's. He hoped that Mahdi's estimation was true rather than gracious. But now he had to finish this duel in under twenty minutes to save Aki. Because after twenty minutes…it would be all over.

At that time Aki came to her senses and whimpered from the horrific headache that blinded her. It never went away now. She was being drained so much that, with each time, it felt like a part of her soul was skinned.

Breathing heavily Yusei managed to stand up and, as the world swirled around him, he swayed but planted his feet firmly to maintain his balance. Fighting off nausea, he focused his eyes on Mahdi and noticed that Aki regained her consciousness. "Aki!" he called out to her and was relieved that his voice completely stopped sounding like mush.

Mahdi regarded the red-haired Signer for a few seconds, "Did you like that? That was 300 Volts. Seems like a steep jump from 100 but you needed to be taught a lesson. So you want to try your tricks again? If you do I'll double the 300 and if you're not a vegetable after…then it'll be a miracle. But hey, all of you believe in miracles so who knows, maybe your friendship will save you!" With that he laughed and turned to mock Yusei's beliefs and noticed only then that he was standing up. Not very steadily but standing nonetheless. Mahdi frowned and worriedly asked, "WHAT are you doing?"

But Aki couldn't bring herself to listen to Mahdi. Instead, she couldn't peel her eyes off Yusei. Her eyes filled with tears as she took in his image. He was slouched and shaking, his face was pale, and blood…it stained his clothing like a horrible Rorschach blot… there was a trail of it where he stood and moved…and there were red smudges on his forehead and next to his lips. "Yusei…dear god…"

Yusei tried to smile. "Aki, it's…nothing, I'm okay," he tried to comfort her, "And…are you?"

"No, he's not okay," Mahdi interrupted their conversation, "Unless he trusts me he's going to die in a couple of minutes."

Aki's eyes widened and there was nothing she could do now to stop the tears from escaping. _A couple of minutes…in a couple of minutes Yusei is going to die…he's going to die_…she was thinking over and over again with distress. And she couldn't do anything to save him.

"Aki, don't listen-"

"No, _do_ listen to me," Mahdi growled, "This is very important. I'm sure the two of you know mine and Osiris' famous story. Just a reminder: once upon a time, Osiris was a wise and powerful king like no other, and a bringer of civilizations. But then something happened and he mostly became identified as the god of Death and Afterlife. That something was Set killing Osiris because he wanted what he had," Mahdi gave Yusei a long look and smiled slowly, "So eons ago, I killed and _dismembered _you."

Yusei was certain that Mahdi was saying this to intimidate him but it wasn't going to work.

"So as you can_ see_ history is repeating itself," Mahdi remarked and gestured at him to make a point, "You and I are destined to fight. And, as you remember from the story, I get to kill you. Boohoo, how sad."

_It's a colourful story_, Yusei thought, _But even if that did happen before doesn't mean it's happening again. _He sure as hell wasn't going to throw in the towel and die just because it happened in some legend. He refrained from commenting.

When he didn't hear any responses Mahdi went on, "So here is the main reason you're here, Osiris. This is a reason I tried to find you. The reason why I created the seal, La Magra, killed a few people along the way, and kidnapped your girlfriend: I want us to strike a deal."

"What makes you think," Yusei began, "That I'd want to make _any_ deal with a lunatic like you?"

"How about your death?" Mahdi suggested, "Is that an incentive enough for you?"

Aki flinched and bit down on her bottom lip to prevent herself from wailing outloud at Mahdi's horrible prediction.

_Death_, Yusei repeated in his head for good measure. For some reason _that_ didn't faze him as much as the idea of being unable to finish the duel and leaving Aki in the hands of a murderous psychopath. _Am I not afraid to die…?_ And then, despite the fact that he was trying to resist it for so long, Yusei closed his eyes. The painless and soothing sensation of floating began clouding his mind again. He never wanted that sensation to end.

"What happened between us millenniums ago is happening again," Mahdi said, "We are fighting and, as you can see, I am winning. You're going to die unless you and I make a deal."

Mahdi's voice came to him like an echo and Yusei pried his eyes open. He had to stop submitting to exhaustion. "What...deal...?" he asked, focusing his vision on his vile opponent.

Mahdi relaxed. His expression softened and he was pleased with the fact that his opponent finally seemed interested in him. "You and I need to agree on mutualism," he answered, "We can stabilize the Great Balance without one eliminating the other. We can escape this fight."

"So…after _everything_ you've done…" Yusei began with disbelief and with sublime dark amusement, "You want a truce?"

Mahdi narrowed his eyes. "Every single thing I've done…I've done it for this purpose," he said, "_I _was the one that triggered your awakening, Osiris."

Yusei's eyes widened. His inheritance of Sky Dragon...him being branded with the mark of Osiris…all this was Mahdi's doing? It couldn't be. What was Yugi Mutou's role in this then? What was going on?

Mahdi noticed the look that came upon his face and smirked. "So I take it you got your God card around the same time I started the sacrificial duels? That's because the evil of them skewed the Balance: which I did on purpose of course. When the scales tipped, you were awakened."

"But why now?" Yusei asked, needing to put together a timeline, "Why did you start all of this now? Why not years ago? Why not later?"

"Mmm?" Mahdi hummed, "Because I didn't know who I _really _was until quite recently. Two years ago, to be exact. And then all this preparation and La Magra…it took time. The city was in Chaos as it was with the Dark Signers and Z-ONE battles. And it's been peaceful for the past 7 months. Striking now was a good time."

Yusei knew that there was no way it was just a coincidence. He long before established that there was a relation between the God card and the sacrificial duels but the fact that it all just happened on the day of his 20th birthday? Mahdi either wasn't telling them something on purpose or he himself was oblivious to the fact. For a countless time Yusei thought how necessary it was to find Yugi Mutou. "Then what happened two years ago?" he asked, "How did you awaken then? _Who_ awakened you?"

Mahdi's gaze held him for a long moment before his smirk took on an enigmatic quality. "I think you could say…that I had some help."

Yusei frowned.

"You think you're the only one who had help in this?" Mahdi continued beaming at him, "You might have had your own card already made but I had some advantages as well. It's only fair, don't you think?"

"Help?" Aki hesitantly intervened into their conversation, "Advantages? Is that how you seem to know everything, Mahdi? Is that why you know all of this and yet we don't?"

Mahdi turned to looked upon her and Aki steadily held his gaze. "Basically," he agreed, "I would have figured it all out eventually just as you would have: since childhood I had suspected…things. But the process was quickened. I was given a crash course on this. And now I'm giving both of you one."

"Who was it?" Yusei demanded, not liking this abrupt ambiguousness, "Does it have something to do with that Free Duellists' Association you're with?"

"_That_ doesn't matter," Mahdi avoided the question suddenly. It was very unlike him, considering he craved to tell them everything. "What matters to me is that it's _you_, Osiris, standing in front of me and no one else. It could have been _anyone_ else. Hell…it could have been the _Pharaoh_ again." Whether he was aware of it or not, his last words came out with certain bitterness.

Yusei and Aki exchanged a quick look, both connecting that random slip with the story of Atem and Yugi Mutou.

"But it wasn't. It was you. _You_. You who were always my cosmic and archetypical antithesis," Mahdi smiled. "Now, you obviously weren't born yesterday nor did you fall out of the sky two weeks ago – that's because for as long as I'd live in this Realm, so would you, Osiris. You're here in a chance that I ever threw off the Balance. You're my opposite that exists as a safety net. If I never did too much evil and threw off the cosmic Balance then you'd have remained a sleeper. But, naturally, I woke you up on purpose: now I want us to make a deal so both of us can outwit this stupid existential crap."

"Why do you want to make this deal?" Yusei asked, "You're winning now. Why do you care? You could kill me now and get rid of me." It wasn't as if it he was about to lie down and take it but this was a question of value.

Aki felt her heart sink listening to those words. "Yusei…" she whispered.

"Because I don't want _you_ to die," Mahdi responded gently, "I like you. I…really like you."

_What, it doesn't go beyond his apparent crush on me_? Yusei wondered. He shivered from revulsion. And then when the shivering didn't stop, he realized just how freezing it was. He was drenched in cold sweat. He was growing weaker faster than he hoped.

"I like you…but that's not all there is to it," Mahdi looked away, "If I kill you then others will come after you – the Balance is already skewed for Evil so more Good will be sent to strike it back to 50:50. There would always be others. And if _you_ somehow get rid of _me_ then others will come after me. The fight will never be over. You will never get the peace that our deal could provide."

"You're trying to trick the universal order, _Set_?" Yusei inquired.

"I'm trying to create a perfect world for you and I!" Mahdi interrupted and opened his arms as if anticipating a hug, "Where there is no surge of evil or good. Where everything is in perfect balance, where you and I perfectly coexist! Where for every evil deed I do you do a good one. Imagine: no more wars or cataclysmic events in this city. No more massive economy-draining restorations. For as long as you and I are in this together, there will be…equality. There will not be too much evil or too much good. There will be perfect mutualism! And I want this deal to be with you, my perfect antithesis, and not anyone else."

Yusei studied his opponent. With each moment that passed he appeared creepier and more and more psychotic. His eyes were wide, his mouth was agape, he flung his skeletal arms around with excitement, and even his hair was in disarray after all the nervous clutching and twitching. If Yusei didn't feel such loathing for this dangerous monster he might have felt pangs of fright. "And how do you think that would work?" he asked.

Mahdi looked so happy. "I stop the sacrificial duels immediately, of course," he instantly replied, obviously having thought this through, "No more deaths for this cause. I give you and the city the months necessary to recover. And after, we work together in maintaining a perfect balance of both good and evil. You and I…the perfect companions…"

Yusei looked away. The idea of cooperating with a madman who possessed some discreet sexual urges for him was definitely not something he'd ever think of doing. While Mahdi's idea did hold some very basic and simplistic value – that of preventing mass-scale catastrophes – Yusei didn't think that it was possible. After all, Mahdi was pure and unsaturated evil and he had to be stopped. He could not be reasoned with or cooperated with.

Yusei touched his hand to his forehead, trying to bring himself out of the fog that began spreading before his eyes, and suddenly swayed. He hurriedly stabilized himself and, numbing his panic, checked the time. Thirteen minutes left. This discussion took up way too much precious time.

At that point Mahdi dug a mobile phone out of his pockets and waved it at him. "Is that agreement?" he asked, "Not much time left. If you say yes, I break the seal and call the ambulance immediately. The damn thing turned out to be a no reception zone."

"Yusei…" Aki whispered. Her heart bled as she watched him. He was noticeably becoming worse and she didn't know how he managed to keep standing. She thought that he needed to agree to Mahdi's deal. It was a terrible condition and there were probably hidden catches but it didn't matter now. He needed immediate medical attention.

Yusei fixed his fading eyes on Aki and found himself contemplating a possible settlement. "What about her? I agree to the deal and you let her go…correct?"

Aki winced and shook her head. "Yusei, don't!" she called out to him. She tried to smile and to sooth him, "Don't worry about me, please. You're the one that needs help. I…it doesn't matter."

Yusei heard her but now he concentrated only on Mahdi.

Mahdi was silent for a long moment. Every single second that was wasted felt to Yusei like eternity. He fought to keep his eyes open.

"Yes, I promised I'd let her go," Mahdi finally said, "But...I won't. Not for awhile."

Aki's eyes widened but she instantly suppressed her fear. "Yusei, it's fine-"

That brought Yusei out of his stupor like a flash of lightning. "What do you want with her?" he asked.

"She and her power intrigue me," Mahdi answered, "And I think I'll keep her as a guarantee of you honouring our agreement. You will get her back should you do everything we decide on."

"Then it's no deal," Yusei said, blinking away the daze, "The duel…continues."

Mahdi's face hardened. "What's that?"

Aki gasped and could no longer take it. "Yusei, no!" she screamed to him, "Don't! Don't worry about me, I'll be fine! Please, you have to get to the hospital!"

"Yes, _Yusei_, stop," Mahdi mimicked her, "Maybe you should listen to your girlfriend. If you want to survive, that is. I've killed you once before, didn't I? Hint. Hint."

Yusei's locked his determined gaze on Aki. "Aki, I'm going to win this duel and you and I will leave together," he promised to her, "I'm not going anywhere without you. That's final."

"You're not thinking, Osiris," Mahdi remarked.

"I draw a card..." Yusei declared as he pulled a card out of his bloodstained deck.

[Yusei Fudo]

[**Beginning of Turn Three**: Stardust Dragon (Lvl.8) ATK3300/DEF2000 in Attack Mode; 1 Face down Card; 2 Cards in hand; LP2300]

"Yusei, no…" Aki shook her head while inconsolable tears stung her eyes, "No…no…no…" How could he do this? How could he put her before himself after what she did to him?

"Even if you win – which is impossible – what makes you think I'll let the two of you go now?" Mahdi asked with amusement.

"Because after I'm done you will be in no condition to argue otherwise," Yusei answered simply. He was trying not to hear Aki's tormented moans but they still painfully ingrained themselves in his heart. _How could you not understand why I'm doing this? _he thought.

Mahdi scowled. And then, with a mix of sadness and anger reflecting in his voice, he said, "So you have chosen…death."

"No, I have chosen to fight," Yusei deflected while studying his two cards. The situation wasn't looking too well. He had to lose Stardust Dragon right now due to Hyper Synchron's effect. But he could turn it to his advantage.

Mahdi made a crooked smile. "Fight…? You can't fight. You're bleeding like a stuck pig. I'm surprised you're conscious. I'm impressed, actually."

"I activate my Magic card, Advance Draw," Yusei ignored him and gestured to Stardust, "I can release my one Level 8 monster to draw 2 cards."

"It won't save you," Mahdi commented.

Yusei watched with regret at Stardust Dragon disappeared but he promised himself that he would bring it back. He drew the additional cards and saw that he still didn't have a monster to defend himself with. But instead of beginning to worry he raised his eyes to Mahdi and suddenly got an idea.

"I place one card face down and end my turn," he calmly announced.

[Yusei Fudo]

[**End of Turn Three**: 0 Monsters; 2 Face down Cards; 2 Cards in hand; LP2300]

Yusei's decision brought Aki out of her crying mess and she gasped. "Yusei…!" Why didn't he play a monster to stand against Mahdi's two? Why didn't he attack him? Especially since Mahdi had no trap cards set?

Mahdi frowned. "What are you trying to pull?"

Yusei offered him a small smile which required inhuman effort on his behalf.

"Do you think you can just get by with no monsters?" Mahdi questioned with anger, "Are you treating this as a joke?"

Yusei said nothing.

"Then let it be," Mahdi looked away, "I draw a card."

[Mahdi]

[**Beginning of Turn Four**: La Magra (Lvl.9) ATK3000/DEF3000 in Attack mode; Familiar Knight (Lvl.3) ATK200 (Equipped with Shooting Star Bow)/DEF1400 in Attack mode; 0 Facedown cards; 1 Card in hand; LP1850]

Mahdi studied his newly drawn card with a frown. Then he smirked and looked at Yusei. "Maybe I should take my time with my turns," he said, "I need to assess my strategy and whatnot. I'm in no hurry whatsoever!"

"It doesn't matter," Yusei answered.

"What?" Mahdi raised his eyebrows.

"It doesn't matter," Yusei firmly repeated, "Because this duel will still end…with your defeat."

Aki took in a sharp intake of air. And then, despite her stomach-churning worry for Yusei, she actually realized that she believed in that prediction. She could only hope that it could happen as soon as possible.

Mahdi's eyes narrowed and he was no longer smiling. "You're bluffing," he determined, "You have nothing that could help you."

"Go on with your turn and find out," Yusei encouraged.

Mahdi hesitated.

Aki suddenly realized what Yusei was doing. Mahdi enjoyed a perception of control and liked having everything straightforward and predictable. But Yusei was going outside of his usual pattern right now and playing with him. She imagined that this could potentially freak out Mahdi a little.

"I…" Mahdi looked at the card in his hand, "I activate my own Magic card, Card of Demise. It lets me draw cards until I have 5 in my hand."

"Trap card open," Yusei activated one of his own face down cards, "Insightful Cards of Reversal. When you add cards to your hand outside of the Draw Phase…I get to draw cards equal to the number of cards in your hand."

"Hmm…" Mahdi observed him carefully.

Yusei drew in a deep breath and found that he couldn't fill his lungs completely. He had to draw in another short breath immediately and knew that he could no longer do much to keep himself from hyperventilating. And that severely amplified his dizziness and nausea. With a shaking hand Yusei drew the five cards to his hand. He had seven now. And as he looked at his new hand he felt a chill down his spine. The world had stopped.

He drew the Sky Dragon of Osiris.

As he studied the twisting and snarling Divine beast, Yusei almost laughed although he wouldn't permit himself the agony of it.

He didn't draw the means of bringing back Stardust Dragon. Or the means of bringing out Saviour Star Dragon. Oh no. Here he was, trying to prove that the only fate that mattered to him was the one connecting him with his friends…and he drew a monster that explicitly connected him to Mahdi. Yusei might have been delusional from pain but he still found this to be the most hilarious yet cruel twist of fate. He unfortunately never seized to believe that everything happened for a reason. This couldn't mean just nothing, right?

"Did you draw something you like?" Mahdi's voice brought him out of his thoughts.

Yusei answered nothing and just patiently met Mahdi's black eyes. He might have been feeling despaired but he wouldn't permit Mahdi to see a drop of it.

Mahdi waited for an answer and when he didn't get one he sighed. "Okay, let it be your way. I summon Makyura the Destructor in Attack Mode." A Level 4 monster with claws on its arms appeared. Its attack was at 1600 and defense at 1200.

Aki recognized the monster from her own duel with Mahdi. If destroyed it allowed Mahdi to activate a Magic card from his hand. Her heart clenched. She hoped he wouldn't pick one so horrible as either Meteor Flare or Hinotama. There was a chance that if she materialized them…then Yusei wouldn't be able to survive the deadly effects. Just imagining him being hit by a fireball horrified her. "Yusei, be careful with this monster," she pleaded.

Mahdi shot a look at her.

"Aki…it's okay," Yusei nodded to her, "I know this one's effect." Nonetheless, he felt a light touch of warmth in his otherwise bleak and ice-cold condition.

Mahdi studied him with a frown, as if trying to figure him out. He seemed not to know what he wanted to do even though he had three monsters in attack mode. "You have only one face down card remaining," he uttered an obvious observation.

"Your math is impressive," Yusei commented.

Mahdi glared at him with anger. He obviously did not like that tone of voice. "I have three monsters, Osiris," he said, "I could attack you directly with _just_ La Magra and I would win. You don't seem to realize what you've gotten yourself into."

"Go for it," was Yusei's rebuttal.

"You can't have a trap that'd protect you from all my monsters!" Mahdi went on, his voice taking on some subtle hysterical notes, "There is no way! You're bluffing."

"Then attack me," Yusei said quite uncaringly.

Mahdi pursed his lips.

Aki worriedly looked from Mahdi to Yusei. She hoped that regardless of everything Yusei had a way of protecting himself.

Yusei felt his knees beginning to shake and directed his eyes to the ground, summoning any last of his strength to maintain his balance. _Hurry up_… he thought mentally. He was gasping for each breath now although he tried to do it in long intervals.

Nine minutes left.

"I…I place a card face down…and end my turn," Mahdi said quietly.

[Mahdi]

[**End of Turn Four**: La Magra (Lvl.9) ATK3000/DEF3000 in Attack mode; Familiar Knight (Lvl.3) ATK200 (Equipped with Shooting Star Bow)/DEF1400 in Attack mode; Makyura the Destructor (Lvl.4) ATK1600/DEF1200 in Attack mode; 1 Face down card; 3 Cards in hand; LP1850]

Aki's eyes widened. Mahdi passed…on his turn? He was afraid of what…Yusei had?

"I bet that wasn't in your plans, Osiris," Mahdi said.

_On the contrary…you did exactly what I wanted_, Yusei thought and wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. "It's my turn," he meditatively placed his bloody hand on the deck. _Stardust Dragon_…he thought, _Give me something that could bring you back. _He slowly drew a card from his deck and then automatically discarded two cards from his hand. By rules of the duel, the duelists were only allowed 6 cards in one hand at the beginning of their turn. Quite unfortunately.

[Yusei Fudo]

[**Beginning of Turn Four**: 0 Monsters; 1 Face down Card; 6 Cards in hand; LP2300]

Yusei felt like he had been hit with a blunt object.

He drew Card of Last Will, the trap card Jack gave him. The card that was tailored for Sky Dragon.

_Why is this happening…_Yusei didn't know what to do now. He could play weak monsters and wait to bring out Stardust…but he didn't have the luxury of time. Or…he could relent and summon Sky Dragon. But how could he? He wasn't lying earlier when he told Mahdi that he wanted nothing to do with him. That the destiny with Signers was what mattered to him. He did not want _this_ destiny. He didn't want this connection to Mahdi. It wasn't what mattered…but why was everything showing him otherwise? Was he just wrong?

"So…you're going into overdrive," Mahdi said. He wiggled his cell phone. "Just one word and the duel is over. I have ambulance on speed dial, just so you know. You can still survive this."

Yusei felt hopelessness eloping him and had to fix his eyes on Aki. She was like the light at the end of this tunnel. She was the one that could help him through his despair. She could keep him in check.

"I…summon Junk Synchron in defence mode," Yusei announced, returning to the duel. He just had to do what he could now. One of his signature Tuner monsters made an appearance. It was a small cartoonish yellow robot, Level 3, and its attack was at 1300 and defence at 500.

"Junk Synchron special effect activates," Yusei continued, "When..." He suddenly paused. Again, he wiped away the cold perspiration from his forehead with his sleeve. "When…" he repeated weakly and squeezed his eyes shut. He…felt abruptly confused and couldn't remember what exactly he was trying to do. Especially with a combo he's done countless times before.

"Yusei…" Aki whispered, tears clouding her vision again. Again, she writhed against her binds, desperately trying to free herself.

"You were saying?" Mahdi urged him on while twirling the mobile phone between his spider-like white fingers.

Behind his eyelids Yusei once again felt the return of that wonderful airless sensation. Never before did he want to lie down and give in to sleep as much as now. But no. He couldn't. The addicting painless sensation was all in his head and he had to come back into harsh reality. Yusei forced his eyes open, rapidly blinking against the blur, and focused his vision on Junk Synchron. He knew this. It was simple. "When Junk Synchron is Summoned, it can special Summon one Level 2 or lower monster from the Graveyard. So I bring back…Speed Warrior," the card appeared out of the Graveyard and Yusei was about to play it when Mahdi interrupted with a chuckle.

"I won't let you waste my time with yet another Synchro combo. I activate Black Horn of Heaven!" he opened a trap card, "I can negate a Special Summon of one of your monsters and destroy it. So…put that card back into the Graveyard."

"Then I activate my own trap, Angel Lift," Yusei said and flipped up his trap, "I can Select one Level 2 or lower monster from my Graveyard and Summon it in attack mode." With that he played his faithful Speed Warrior whose attack was at 900 points and defence at 300 points.

Mahdi sighed wearily.

"And then, when there is a Tuner monster on my side of the field, I can Special Summon Bolt Hedgehog from my Graveyard," Yusei continued and a small Level 2 hamster appeared in defence mode, its attack and defence both at 800.

"Seven…?" Mahdi suddenly asked.

"What?" Yusei asked slowly. Voices carried to him more and more muffled and he couldn't catch on as quickly. He narrowed his eyes against Mahdi's increasingly blurry figure.

"The total level of these monsters is seven," Mahdi explained and smiled slowly, "Aww, you're spoiling me. You're not summoning that awful screeching dragon this time! No more bonds and friends talk I take?"

"Don't make…assumptions," Yusei managed. Mahdi was kind of correct but he wouldn't let him have the satisfaction.

"Oh I'm sorry," Mahdi continued smiling at him, "I was just trying to rush this being that your time has already ran out. You're running on adrenaline and you'll break any second. But I'm so generous…I'm still giving you a chance to reconsider. Just say yes."

"Yusei…please…" Aki said, "It's okay…" _Please say yes_, she thought, _Stop it, don't worry about me! Please…or you're going to die!_

Looking at his cards, Yusei realized that he no longer knew what to do. He didn't wish to summon the Sky Dragon of Osiris. He didn't want to believe that there was no other way. That there was no freedom of will. That his wholehearted insistence that the only destiny that mattered being the one you made – the one he made with his friends – was wrong.

Yusei checked the time and with regret decided that he could stall for a few minutes. Maybe he could find out more from Mahdi, find out a loophole that permitted him to summon the Sky Dragon without submitting to his opponent. Because…one way or another…when the time would be close to running out, he knew that he'd submit and play the God card rather than leave Aki at the mercy of this psychopath. "If you have…any chance of convincing me to take your deal…" he began, "Then you have to tell me more."

Aki gasped and felt a surge of relief wash over her. Was Yusei finally reconsidering his stance? Did he finally decide what was more important?

Mahdi's confident smile became saturated with uncertainty. "Tell you more…? Do you actually mean that?"

"If the three of us are truly Egyptian gods," Yusei started, summoning remaining rationality that wasn't clouded with pain, "Then shouldn't we have…some abilities? Is our power only confined to the cards?"

"In Hinduism, there is a concept of 'avatar' – a deliberate descent of a deity to a Human Realm, or an incarnation or manifestation. That's what we are," Mahdi explained, "And because of that we are not all-powerful omnipotent gods in this realm. We have flaws. Weaknesses. And only very limited and select 'special' abilities."

"Which are all confined to cards?" Yusei repeated the question. He was trying to find out why Mahdi and him had specialized identity cards and Aki didn't. Or why his was given to him and Mahdi's was self-made.

"No, not quite," Mahdi answered, "All Egyptian Gods represent certain ideals. Some of ideals representative of me are chaos, darkness, destruction… Those are in everything I am. It's in my actions, in my personality..."

"Some ideals, not all?" Yusei asked and this time his voice came out slurred. He realized it and it panicked him. He had to finish the duel…he had to do it soon. But why…why weren't the bonds with his friends strong this time? Why wasn't it enough?

"Yes, because we are only incarnations. We are human now. For one, traditionally Set also represents desert and storms…but I can't exactly personify that in this time and environment, can I?" Mahdi smiled and opened his arms, imitating an embrace.

"Convenient," Yusei commented, deciding to keep his responses short in order to hide his deteriorating state. _Come on…tell me something inconsistent…_

"Sometimes," Mahdi's smile faded a little, "Now, what did Osiris represent to ancient Egyptians? Wisdom, kinship, generosity, royalty… I'm not sure about wisdom since you've done some pretty stupid things so far. Also with kinship...you're a freaking orphan, so no. But I do hear you're pretty generous. And royalty since you're the ruling King of Games. What else? Osiris of course represented immortality and death. It's funny because you're on a verge of death now and if you die you'll just have a highway ticket back to the Celestial Realm. So checkpoint for immortality too." With that he laughed at his own analysis.

Yusei thought about how that seemed to present his life in a pretty consistent manner but nonetheless…it was still just basics. He wasn't a caricature. And it still explained nothing of Sky Dragon of Osiris. That mysterious dragon didn't seem like a representation of anything relating to him or to the virtues Mahdi painted of him. He hoped that perhaps it wasn't meant to be his after all, maybe there was a mistake and it branded him for no reason.

Aki watched Yusei and pleaded in her mind for him to hurry and to make that decision.

"Now you," Mahdi suddenly addressed Aki, turning to look at her, and she flinched, "Isis represented an ideal partner...which, sorry to say, you're _not_ based on what you've done to _Yusei_," he snickered, "And also motherhood...but unless you managed to get knocked up already I don't think this applies to you either."

Aki had to turn away from his glare, feeling her stomach churn.

"But Isis' other domains were loyalty, nature and…" Mahdi smiled widely at her, "Magic. Hmm."

"Magic?" Aki repeated in a trance and her eyes widened. She was…a Black Rose Witch, possessor of awful but special powers. And nature? Her deck was always plant-based.

"Then Atum…" Mahdi smiled bitterly as he suddenly changed topics to somebody completely unrelated, "He's the almighty creator God. He had started the whole cycle. He is the first and the original. He was the one who thought of and conceptualized the Great Balance. Personally, I think he just got tired of doing all the work and decided to sit back and watch the world resolve itself without his help. He's such an egotistical douchebag. He came incarnated here a few times too but I'm sure he mostly did it for adventures and kicks and giggles. He didn't like me and what? He locked me up in a cage for millenniums while everybody else could come and go as they pleased. I finally got out..." he stared off vacantly into space.

The two Signers exchanged a perplexed look. Why did he mention somebody so obscure and who didn't really have to do with anything?

Yusei swallowed before attempting to speak. "What about…La Magra?" he asked, with effort articulating every word.

Mahdi blinked slowly. "What do you mean?"

"Aside from darkness…" Yusei nodded to Mahdi's ace monster, "How does it…relate to you?"

Mahdi glanced at the monster. "It's simple really," he finally spoke up, "For one, it does represent chaos. It _creates_ chaos. But it has a very personal value to it rather than divine. I have a severe case of anemia, you see. Not a godly aspect in any way, of course. I have a significantly less than normal quantity of red blood cells. Why? Because…by making La Magra I ended up _pouring_ myself into it. It sucked me dry. It is my strength and power in every way. After I made it I was in a coma for a month and diagnosed with ineffective hematopoiesis, meaning that my body simply no longer produces enough blood for me. All because I made it."

_That's sick and twisted_, Yusei thought. Perhaps the fact that – if it was truly his destiny – Sky Dragon already existed outside of him and drained a little of his blood per use was something to be grateful for.

And Aki thought how it explained why Mahdi was so sickly pale and why the few times he touched her it felt like touching ice.

Mahdi went on when neither of them commented. "So now, aside from daily iron supplements I _have_ to take if I want to survive I have to undergo regular and painful blood transfusions. So that," he gestured at La Magra, "_That_ is a perversion of what I am in this Realm. Humans are pathetic and weak sheep…and this body, this _shell,_ is as sick and feeble as it gets. I hate how this incarnation turned out," he turned away with a disgusted expression on his face, "It's not fair but I just couldn't let myself be locked up in there any longer. And Atum let you two breeze by but, as always, spit on me."

_Breeze by,_ Yusei thought, _Perhaps. _Taking in the powers of Sky Dragon wasn't very fun for him either but Mahdi's case truly made it seem like a walk in the park.

"So La Magra requires blood sacrifices to manifest and to appear," Mahdi continued explaining, "The seal is the only way with which it could appear. It sucks the blood of others in excess as a constant reminder of what I need but can never have by _myself_. It makes me boil with hatred and envy."

"Why would you do such a thing to yourself?" Aki asked quietly, once again intervening in the discussion that largely left her out, "Why did you even have to make it? Why not just…be."

"Why?" Mahdi questioned, "Because if you don't have the power to show you have _none_. And now…to become stronger you have to face your weakness and only then will you be able to overcome it. You have to take power of your own fear and pain. La Magra might have ultimately signed my early death certificate but from now on I will never be in the background. I will always be remembered. And I am proud of what I've done. In a way, by making it I have _overcome_ my weakness and I have become _stronger_. And power is what matters. By doing this I brought myself closer to the _real_ me, the one that's not this pathetic human shell." With that he looked at his sickly pale arms.

Yusei wiped the cold sweat from his forehead again, feeling faint. So that might have explained Mahdi…as a masochist and a power-hungry narcissist. But that explained nothing of how the Sky Dragon related to him. Which of his 'godly' ideals was it a representation of or which of his personal qualities? It couldn't possibly relate to him…he had nothing in common with it. In addition to all that he inherited it, so how did the card-marker even know that it could be associated with him? He wrapped both of his arms around his midsection now and slouched even more to ease the pain.

"Wait," Aki hesitantly spoke up, "But…but earlier you said that my psychic power was the result of-" she stopped and quickly glanced at Yusei. She couldn't mention Momentum. "-result of that…mutation? That it's scientifically based… Then how can it also be related to me being an incarnation? And how does this explain other psychic duellists? I'm not the only one."

Yusei's glazed over eyes locked on Aki's blurry red shape. Without knowing it, she seemed to follow from his train of thoughts. She was also trying to figure out if there was a loophole in this logic. If there was a possibility for mistakes or for chance.

"And he isn't the first King of Games and nor am I the first villain," was Mahdi reply, "These things are not completely exclusive."

_Not…completely…exclusive_…Yusei gazed down at the Sky Dragon. _Maybe that's what it is_… he thought in a pained stupor, _This doesn't rule my life…this isn't all I am. Maybe this is just…a stage…a separate destiny that needs to be completed. _

"Doesn't it mean that there is nothing extraordinary about us?" Aki asked, not knowing that Yusei was thinking the same thing, "There is nothing…that warrants us being different. Maybe…maybe you're wrong."

Mahdi glanced at her with such anger that Aki felt fear. Yusei was who he was obsessed with. She hoped that he wouldn't hurt him just to get back at her.

"Another one in denial of her destiny, I see," Mahdi commented, uttering every word with poison.

"You said the reason this is all happening is because you wanted to make a deal with Yusei," Aki quickly answered, "Because you're the thesis and the antithesis. Then what does it make me? What is this destiny you claim of me now? What is your explanation for me being here?" She thought that maybe Yusei was right to deny this all along. There were some inconsistencies and it made it seem at times that Mahdi was grasping for the vague too much.

Yusei raised his eyes to Aki. She was…exactly correct. And she let him contain some of his strength by basically reading his mind and speaking out on his behalf.

Mahdi narrowed his eyes and was silent for a long moment. "I have to admit that you're a bit of an enigma to me, Izayoi Aki," he finally spoke up, "It's part of the reason why I'd like to keep you with me for awhile. …For scientific purposes, of course."

Aki almost gagged. "So you have no idea about me?" she asked, "You admit that you could be wrong?"

"I'm not wrong!" Mahdi suddenly snapped. "I know it's you. I recognize you! So I'm thinking that rather than having a separate destiny you're here to support him. I think that you're supposed to be _his_ safety net," he finally said.

"What…?" Aki asked hesitantly, not quite understanding what he meant.

Mahdi thought for another moment before speaking up, slowly and not very enthusiastically. "What happened millenniums ago is that after Osiris' death Isis managed to save him," he said, "With her help he resurrected. And Egyptians hailed him the king of Afterlife and bestowed him with the highest of their virtues."

"So what you're saying is that you didn't actually manage to kill Osiris?" Aki interrupted, suddenly feeling empowered, "That he came back stronger than ever? That you _failed_?"

Mahdi clenched his teeth with fury but then suddenly relaxed. Then he smiled. "Okay, you win, Izayoi Aki," he said cheerfully, "It's true. It doesn't matter what happens because he'll still win. Even if he doesn't agree to my deal and dies, it won't matter! He'll just come back!"

Aki winced at his sarcasm-saturated proposition.

"What was I thinking…" Mahdi hummed, "In fact, you know what? Let's just wait for another half hour. Once he's dead you can work your magic to bring him back to life."

_Half hour_…Yusei thought and gave in to closing his eyes to stop the room from swimming, _If only_. It was a miracle he kept himself standing. No, not anymore.

His legs gave out and Yusei sunk on one knee. Taking in short ragged breaths, he fought the urge to lie down. Just to lie down…to sleep…just for a few minutes…or…maybe forever. He found himself analyzing that conclusion and understood that he didn't really care.

Aki noticed Yusei falling and screamed with worry, "Yusei!"

Mahdi turned and saw what happened. "Yes, that!" He exclaimed excitedly and pointed at the Signer's wounded form, looking at Aki with a victorious expression, "That, right there! Any second now and you can bring him back to life! Work your resurrection super powers, Izayoi Aki. I can't wait to see them!"

Aki's frightened scream and his Signer mark beginning to burn into his arm brought Yusei out of his melancholic thoughts. _Don't_, he thought to the Crimson Dragon, _I still have…some time… I can still win this…don't call others to get here prematurely._ With his plea the Signer mark stopped aching but just continued glowing with the dread of evil.

"Stop that…" Aki whispered while actually weeping now, "Stop that, Mahdi! Why are you doing this? He's going to die!" Inside she felt like she was suffocating. If Yusei were to die now she didn't know how she could possibly go on living with herself. After all, her powers did this to him. They were destructive and brought pain to anyone and anything. A single instance when she was able to heal was only a fluke. And here she was watching Yusei on a verge of his death and she could do nothing to help him. She was rotten. She was a monster.

"Oh, that's right, you_ don't_," Mahdi sneered, ignoring Yusei completely now, "You were _supposed_ to be his safety net and protect him from things like this but you ended up being his undoing."

"STOP THAT!" Aki screamed hysterically.

Summoning the last drops of his strength Yusei pried his eyes open and slowly shook his head to clear away the fog. "Aki…don't…listen to him…" he panted, trying to reach her. His hand clutched the duel cards. He had to continue and summon the Sky Dragon. There was no longer any time left. But it was okay, he decided. Finding out that this monster and this destiny weren't completely in control of his life gave him some peace. He just had to relent…and finish this.

Aki shut her eyes and sobbed freely.

"Aki…" Yusei tried to say but it came out as nothing more than an exhalation. _Stop listening to him…it's not your fault…he's only trying to poison you. _But she wasn't listening. She already shut her heart.

"That's right," Mahdi continued mocking, having gotten completely winded up, "You_ don't_ have the power to bring him back. The power you got in _this_ incarnation is the power that kills him instead. Pretty ironic, actually. I like this twist of fate. It's hilarious."

_Why this…why is this curse upon me? Why do I always have to hurt the ones I love? Why do I have to hurt Yusei, the only man that accepted me regardless of these vile powers? What did he do to deserve this punishment? Why does he have to be punished for being with me?_ Aki wanted to curl into a ball. If only she could take Yusei's place. If she could die to save him she would in a heartbeat. For one thousandth time she pleaded for him to heal…but as if. As if she could do something as pure and good like that.

"Enough…" Yusei whispered breathlessly.

Three minutes.

"Mmm?" Mahdi turned to look at him, "You said something? Sorry, you're going to have to speak up."

"I said…enough!" Yusei repeated with all the strength he could master and glared at Mahdi.

_Use it as a means of protecting what you believe in_, Yugi Mutou's words suddenly swam out in his head. In a daze, Yusei questioningly looked at the red God card in his hand.

"Oooh," Mahdi laughed at him, "What are you going to threaten me with now?"

…_And the ones you love_.

Yusei's faded eyes widened. That was it!

Feebly gesturing at his side of the duelling field, he began, "I…tribute my three monsters to…"

Mahdi took a small step back, startled. And then he beamed with excitement and shouted "Yes! Yes!"

"To Summon…a God," Yusei shakily placed the card on the duel disk and left a bloody smudge, "Take flight…Sky Dragon of Osiris…"

Mahdi was borderline squealing with glee now. It was quite unsettling.

Meanwhile, the sky above rambled with ear-shattering thunder. Strokes of lightning flashed outside and the windows of the warehouse trembled. The weakly held-up ceiling began creaking before there was a horrible sound as sheets of metal began breaking away, trying to make way for a colossal monster.

"Hey, watch it!" Mahdi suddenly exclaimed with worry, "You're breaking my place!"

Yusei slowly looked up at the dark storm clouds peaking through the holed roof and noticed the materializing gigantic tail of the Sky Dragon. _I need your help…_he thought in a haze and closed his eyes, _Help me. Lend me your strength_.

_Please don't hurt him anymore_, Aki begged as she looked to the dragon. Because every time Yusei summoned this beast it ended up hurting him.

_Help me finish this…_Yusei thought to the monster, feeling like he was falling and hopelessly fighting to stay conscious, _And then I'll set you free. _

That was when everything suddenly changed.

Yusei felt like a rush of wind passed through him. He found himself unconsciously drawing in a deep breath, something he had been unable to do for awhile now. But this time the air freely filled his lungs. Not a stab of pain with the motion. Yusei exhaled with relief and slowly opened his eyes. His previously rapid, scattering and dizzying heart slowed down and stabilized. And now, with each steady beat of his heart he felt power pumping through his veins. Unbelievable power…and he felt like he could do anything. No, he _knew_ he could do anything. There was no pain, no nausea, no light-headedness, no exhaustion, _nothing_. He felt more alert than he ever did.

With astonishment he looked at the Sky Dragon of Osiris and then, with complete ease and new-found strength, effortlessly got up to his feet and stood up straight.

The ground trembled as the roof crumbled completely but not a piece of debris hit the three participants or any of the computer equipment because they were safely sealed in the vacuum that was the _Sutekh Sacrificō_ seal. For once some good came of Mahdi's torturous methods. The now roofless warehouse of Shinjuku East could not be classified as anything else but ruins. After the Sky Dragon finished making its appearance there was simply no longer a comprehensible structure left in the building. The early but slightly gray morning sky illuminated them.

"I can't say I'm happy about you destroying my lab," Mahdi remarked with bitterness. But then his gaze lingered on the colossal snaking form of Sky Dragon which now heavily hung right behind its owner and he began smiling. "But…this is it! You and I! You're finally showing me your true power, Osiris!"

Aki was staring at Yusei's abruptly confident posture with shock. He didn't seem to be in any pain whatsoever. What did just happen? Did he…get healed somehow?

Yusei felt a strange sensation in his bicep but it was no longer the burning and stabbing pain. It actually felt warm and soothing. He pulled his jacket down from his left shoulder and saw the barbed mark of the Sky Dragon glowing light blue.

_Blue…?_ He thought of nowhere and turned to look at the monstrous red beast next to him. For some reason Yusei knew that if he were to reach out that he would feel flesh. The monster was as real as him and it didn't need the effect of Aki's powers.

The dragon opened its cavernous double mouth and growled at him but it wasn't in any way threatening. On the contrary, it was almost as if it was acknowledging him. A countless electrical current sparked along the dragon's length and for the first time Yusei actually seriously acknowledged it as significant part of the monster's make-up. _Electricity…? _he thought with certain wonder.

"Well, go on! Attack me!" Mahdi was yelling at him ecstatically.

Yusei closed his eyes. He was never too fond of electricity, the dislike which mostly stemmed from its favourable use by the Neo-Domino Security. Whenever there was any opportunity they gladly used tazers against any Satellite residents. And Yusei got especially extra personal with it during his time in prison where they used it against him as a form of torture. And now…now the same thing was basically happening to Aki.

The comforting glow of the Sky Dragon mark spread and enveloped his figure in a radiant azure aura as Yusei suddenly understood.

He understood the relation.

He understood everything.

It was so simple, so obvious.

His eyes opened and locked Aki in their cobalt-blue reflection. _Help me save her_, he thought to the Sky Dragon, _Can you short-circuit the machines? _

The divine dragon let out a stream of hot breath and additional electric currents flashed all across its form. Mahdi's advanced computer equipment slash torture device began trembling with error messages popping up on every screen. There were some unhealthy electric sparks going off and Aki looked about herself worriedly. But then she caught a glance of Yusei's serene face and understood that there was nothing to be afraid of. Nonetheless, it was all absurdly confusing.

"Yusei…" Aki mumbled while staring at his suddenly healthy build and at some strange blue glow surrounding him. "Yusei, what's…happening?"

"Have to admit, you look all nice and fancy," Mahdi commented, noticeably perplexed by what just happened as well, "But I'm not sure what the point is though…" He didn't notice what was going on with the technology behind him, simply mesmerized by his opponent.

Yusei studied Aki silently and then his eyes moved to look at Mahdi.

The time was up.

"Well, doesn't matter. You've accepted your destiny…" Mahdi sighed dreamily, "Thank you…thank you."

"I'm holding four cards," Yusei said and brought up the fan of cards in his hand, "That means the Sky Dragon of Osiris has 4000 attack and defence points."

The Sky Dragon raised its head and let out a shattering roar.

Mahdi just laughed with glee, "So are you going to attack La Magra? It would still leave me with some Life Points. Or my weakest monster? But that would be quite cowardly of you to do… no?"

"I am finishing this," was Yusei's response and he gestured at Familiar Knight, "Sky Dragon, obliterate his monster." He did not care to waste any more time. And besides, it didn't matter. He knew that Mahdi was going to use La Magra's effect and buy himself another turn.

Mahdi sighed. "I'm disappointed," he mumbled. And then as the Sky Dragon opened its mouth and began forming an electric charge, he nodded to his ace monster, "But I will not lose. La Magra special effect activates! Once per turn, by paying 1500 Life Points, I can end the Battle Phase."

As Mahdi's Life Points deteriorated down to the low 350, Yusei calmly remarked, "You can't hide, Mahdi. I _am_ finishing this. You only have one turn left now. Use it wisely."

Mahdi's smile depleted a little and his brows furrowed into a slight frown. "You're threatening me, really? I don't think you know what you're up against yet, Osiris!"

"One turn," Yusei repeated.

Mahdi's eyes narrowed. "We will see."

Yusei regarded the Card of Last Will in his hand. It was all so clear to him. This destiny. This power. The reason he inherited it. Everything. _And you, Jack…thank you, _he thought, _For everything._ "I place one card face down and end my turn," he declared and, as the hidden card appeared, the Sky Dragon's stats decreased. Its attack and defence were both at 3000 now.

[Yusei Fudo]

[**End of Turn Four**: Sky Dragon of Osiris (Lvl.10) ATK3000/DEF3000 in Attack mode; 1 Face down Card; 3 Cards in hand; LP2300]

Aki gasped. "Yusei!" Why would he sacrifice the Sky Dragon's power? Was the effect of that face down card so much more important?

"How foolish," Mahdi shook his head and drew his own card, "My turn!"

[Mahdi]

[**Beginning of Turn Five**: La Magra (Lvl.9) ATK3000/DEF3000 in Attack mode; Familiar Knight (Lvl.3) ATK200 (Equipped with Shooting Star Bow)/DEF1400 in Attack mode; Makyura the Destructor (Lvl.4) ATK1600/DEF1200 in Attack mode; 0 Face down cards; 4 Cards in hand; LP350]

Mahdi took a look at his newly drawn card and his lips slowly curled into a smirk. "Did you ever encounter Drain Leach in any of the sacrificial duels?"

"A Magic card you tailored for La Magra," Yusei nodded, "I did."

"Yes, an Equipment Magic card," Mahdi clarified, "I wanted a little something extra to give La Magra that I couldn't add as its special effect. Basically it adds all my lost Life Points to the monster's attack. That would make its attack 6650."

Aki looked to Yusei with worry. _Over 6000 attack points? _Her gaze dropped at the single face down card on his field. What was it? And did it have the power to turn it all around if it came to that?

Yusei stood unwavering and said nothing. Even though the power of the Sky Dragon intensely fuelled his adrenaline he was completely tranquil.

"But…luckily for you I didn't draw Drain Leach," Mahdi went on, not really fazed with his silences, "Or…unluckily, rather. I drew something else. Something _better_."

Yusei wasn't really listening to Mahdi's delusional threats. At that point he fixed his eyes on Aki. _After this is over, I hope there will be enough time left…_he thought, _For me to tell you the truth._

Aki caught Yusei looking at her and stared back. She still didn't understand what had happened…but the fact that he seemed completely alright now was the only thing that mattered. Her gaze softened. Maybe…maybe this meant that it was almost over. And that he was out of danger and that his promise was right: they were going to leave this battlefield together. That it would be all okay…

"I'll show you, Osiris," Mahdi continued talking, not realizing that he was basically in his own world, "First, I play De-Spell. It lets me destroy one Magic card on the field. I choose Shooting Star Bow to return Familiar Knight's original Attack Points." Familiar Knight's attack raised back to 1200.

_I won't need much, Aki,_ Yusei thought, _Just enough to tell you how I feel_.

"You should be honoured!" Mahdi exclaimed, "Honoured that I am willing to go to such great extents to impress you.. And, well, since you've refused me…to destroy you." With that he pointed at the three monsters on his side of the field, "I will show you a power only a select few have had the honour of facing. I Tribute La Magra, Familiar Knight and Makyura the Destructor to show you the power the likes of which is unrivalled!" With that he activated a yellow card on his duel disk.

The impossibly bright sun beams suddenly shot through the storm clouds and blinded the three. Through his folded arms, Yusei looked up at the source and saw what looked like the sun itself beginning to descend.

Mahdi began laughing maniacally, raising his arms to the sky. "Now feel the power of a superior God! The most powerful God in all of existence! And the God who decided to lent _me_ his power. Come forth, the Winged Dragon of Ra!"

* * *

_So I hope you like this cliffhanger._

_I know it's "wtf" but not to worry, this will eventually be explained! _

_And I'm sincerely sorry for not updating for so long and I'm hoping to return to habit of updating within 1-2 weeks. _

_So now: will Yusei be able to finish the duel before the other Signers get there? What will happen of Mahdi? Who was it that helped Mahdi and what's going on with the Free Duelists' Association? What's the deal with Mahdi having Yugi's best card for some reason, wtf? Will we find out explicitly what Yusei understood and how he came to that conclusion? And what the hell are other Signers doing while all of this is happening?_

_Stay tuned and you (might) find out!_


End file.
